Somewhere Safe
by winky's wand
Summary: When Rebecca finally escapes a house full of lies and abuse, the last place she expects to end up is a castle full of magic, new friends, romance and adventure. But just when she's starting to believe she's found a place she could call home and friends she could call family life teaches her that anything word having is worth fighting for, so fight she will.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

**Disclaimer: I don't own hp and all that jazz**.

**(my first fanfiction for this site, let me know what you think please J )**

She was free at last. Exhausted, hungry, cold and dirty as heck, but free none the less. She pulled her small jacket tighter around her, her only defense from the cold while hiking up the small bag she carried on her shoulder. That was the good thing about barely owning anything, it made running away so much easier, she had only needed to check once before leaving to make sure she had everything. At a noise behind her she jumped and sank into the darkness of the deserted street, her fingers reaching for the locket around her neck as if of their own accord. She held her breath and the locket until she saw a stray cat run out of the alley, she breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall, exhaustion and fear getting the better of her. She had no idea where she was going but anywhere was better than where she was coming from, if only she had a wand.

A small cry of surprise escaped her lips as she felt something rub against her leg, "oh it's just you." She said to the stray cat who had given her freight earlier, she scratched the top of its head and it began to purr "easy to please aren't you?" she asked, smiling for the first time in what felt like weeks. "I'm Rebecca and you are?" the cat sat and stared at her with its yellow eyes, it was black and skinny, obviously starved for food as well as attention and comfort, much like she was. "I'm gonna call you willow, you're my new travelling…" she broke off abruptly at the sound of a crash in the back of the alley willow had just exited.

"You trying to wake up the whole place?!" shouted a man's voice angrily

"You're not doing any better!" another voice replied

Rebecca felt as if someone had doused her in ice cold water, she recognized those voices. How had they found her so quickly surely she covered her tracks well? Fear, anger and determination driving her she jumped to her feet and grabbing willow, who was sauntering off in the opposite direction, she ran as if the devil was at her heels. The twist and turns she took became a blur to her, fear rose and quickly got the better of her as it seemed no matter where turned their voices were behind her.

"Oh no!" she cried as she tuned into a dead end alley, there was nowhere in it to hide except a large dumpster. She didn't even stop to think, throwing back the lid she dived into the dumpster, it had not been emptied in a while. Willow jumped out of her hand and went garbage diving. The tears that had threatened for so long finally came, she was a fool to have ever believed she could escape them sobs racked her body as defeat and humiliation sank in, she clasped the locket around her neck as if it was a life preserver keeping her afloat in the traitorous waters that was her life. Rocking slowly back and forth she whispered to herself "I just want to be safe, somewhere safe, somewhere safe..." as the sound of footsteps outside got louder she rocked faster and faster. The locket got warm in her hands, and warmer and warmer, frightened she froze and tried to let go but found she could not. There was a sudden jerk behind her naval and she was pulled forth into darkness, spinning uncontrollably her hand stuck to her locket. Then suddenly as if someone had dropped her out of the ceiling, she was deposited into a room the likes she had never seen before. The ceiling was the night sky, and candles floated in it, four long tables laden with food lined the room and sitting around them were wide eyed, open mouthed unusually dressed children staring at…her. With a small moan she turned and saw a giant of a man coming towards her while a row of strangely dressed stared on as well. Exhaustion, hunger and fear finally got the best of her as her new surroundings disappeared and she sank into the welcomed darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(hope its not too short, and yes you get a description in this chapter, enjoy ^^)

Scorpius was the first to break the silence at their table. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" He exclaimed as the teachers sweeped out of the Great Hall, Hagrid carrying the unconscious girl. Suddenly everyone was talking.

"How did she apparate in here I thought only certain teachers could do that?!"

"She looked like she rolled around in garbage!"

"Think this was some prank or something?"

It didn't take a genius to guess that similar conversations were going on at all the tables in the Great Hall as the buzzing of conversation grew louder and louder. Albus looked across from his best friend, his face glowing with excitement and intrigue giving his grey eyes a manic look. "I have no idea but let's find out!" he whispered grinning. Scorpius didn't need to be told twice, with all the excitement in the air no one noticed or cared that Malfoy and Potter were sneaking out. "Where are you two headed?" asked a voice Scorpius and Albus would have recognized in their sleep. "You two are returning to the common room like the prefects just said right?" asked Rose as she stared at them with a guileless smile. As she spoke children flooded out of the Great Hall, each diverting to the direction of their common rooms to no doubt make up scenarios that will grow wilder by the moment as to why and how a girl covered in grime apparated into the middle of the Great Hall.

Moving so they stood over to the side of the oncoming crowd on the staircase Albus turned to his cousin "Come on Rose you don't think we'd let this opportunity slide? How often does someone apparated into the middle of Hogwarts?! "  
"Don't you want to hear firsthand how it happened first hand?" Scorpius asked in his most persuasive voice.

Rose stood there biting her lips contemplating the idea when James joined them on the staircase followed by Fred II, even though they were two years apart in age they could usually be found together. A love of mischief made them inseparable. "What are you guys waiting on?" he asked in disbelieve, as if he could not comprehend why they even had to think about going or not. James stood beside the younger brother towering over Albus' 5ft 9" frame with his height of 6ft 1"; he was even taller than their father. Without another word the group proceeded to the infirmary.

Someone was talking close by, fear thick and heavy slammed down on Rebecca until she thought she would suffocate. She struggled to be free from the confines of her…cotton sheet? Stopping in the midst of her escape to freedom she took in her surroundings. There was a partition drawn around her bed but she could see shadowy figures of several adults on the other side, including a very tall man. Her throat suddenly felt constricted, the small whit bed and the clean smelling surrounding suddenly didn't seem so safe. She awkwardly stumbled off the bed careful not to make any sound and barely concealing a gasp when she saw that she was now in a ankle length cotton nightie. Someone had bathed and dressed her, how long had she been out? "Hagrid maybe its best you leave before she awakens I'm afraid the poor girl might be terrified of you" Said a stern but gentle voice, breaking her out of her out of her thoughts.

"If yer sure professor'' A male voice replied, the voice seemed to come from the giant and he sounded …hurt. Hands poised on the doorknob, Rebecca stood frozen as the giant man who went by the name Hagrid made his way around to where she stood. Even though she felt safer than she had in memory, even though she knew deep down that he would not hurt her, fear had a way of turning your common sense to mush. With a small squeak she opened the door and ran outside and straight into someone's chest.

With an "Oof" Albus was thrown onto his back as a blur of blue black hair ran into him. He heard several gasp around him but was too busy counting the snitches circling his head after it slammed into the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed a far away voice; at least it sounded far away. He felt the pressure on top of him ease and knew she had gotten up.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, they should be out here in the first place." McGonagall replied sternly. His brother helped him up to his feet and he looked up to see McGonagall looking at them angrily while his mystery attacker stood beside her biting her lip and looking around as if she would very much like to continue her escape attempt. She finally looked at him and he felt a small tightening in his gut as if he at been hit with a quaffle. Her eyes were the color of amethyst and they seemed to swirl as if liquid while she stared at him, her unruly hair which stuck out at odd angles was so black it appeared blue. She looked away first and as quickly as it (whatever "it" was) began it ended and McGonagall's voice drifted back to him, informing him that they had lost Gryffindor 50pts together. Dejected they turned and slumped up to the Gryffindor tower, Albus looked back to see her being ushered back into the hospital wing, their eyes met and she looked away quickly a slight blush on her pale cheeks. Rose was the first to break the silence as they made their way up "Did you see her eyes?" she whispered as if revealing the holiest of secrets.

"They're beautiful." Albus replied mostly to himself, completely missing the looks he got from his friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**(Oh and thanks to everyone for your reviews, keep them coming ^^)**

Rebecca followed the elderly lady who seemed to be in charged, chancing a glance at the retreating group she found herself once again staring into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. That didn't mean much though, seeing as in all her life or the part she could remember she had only met about a dozen people if that much. He smiled at her before turning to the red headed girl beside him and Rebecca felt the butterflies in her stomach turned to a fire breathing dragon. What the heck was that?

"Come along little one." Rebecca shook her head and headed towards the lady who was holding the door open for her.

"Thank you." She replied in a small voice looking up. She could see her reaction the moment their eyes met. Although having met so few people before tonight, it hadn't taken her long to figure out that not many people had eyes like she did. They would exclaim, continuously stare or keep glancing at her while her "aunts" would stand there like proud parents. The professor, as she had decided to call her did neither; if she hadn't seen the slight widening of her own eyes she would have thought the professor was quite familiar with purple eyed children.

The others were gathered around her bed patiently waiting for them to return, her confidence took a dive as she realized that they had not expected her succeed in her ill conceived escape plan. She sat down holding down her head, her long hair acting like a curtain shielding her face from the stares of the small crowd.

"I am Minerva McGonagall, the headmistress of this school, what is you name?" McGonagall asked softly.

"School!" exclaimed Rebecca, completely ignoring McGonagall's question. "This place is a school?"

"Holy Merlin look at her eyes!" shouted a tall, rather handsome man sitting on one of the chairs beside McGonagall.

"Professor Longbottom please!" Replied McGonagall in a stern voice. Professor Longbottom's face turned red and he mumbled a something sounding like sorry, Rebecca smiled, the act felt unfamiliar. She surveyed the room and noticed that there were six adults in the room, four females and two males. "Yes this is a school" McGonagall was saying, Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry." She was watching Rebecca keenly as she spoke. "Allow me to introduce a part of my staff, Professor Longbottom, head of Gryffindor house," He smiled at her, his face still slightly pink. "Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw house." She indicated to the very small man on her right who sat on a chair loaded with several cushions. He grinned good heartedly at her and she got the impression that what he lacked in size he made up for in strength. "Professor Bones, head of hufflepuff house" The lady to whom she indicated looked as if she was barely suppressing the urge to bombard her with questions,, Rebecca smiled at her and was rewarded with a dazzling one in return . "Professor Slughorn, head of Slytherin house" the slightly overweight man in sprawling green robes nodded at her. "And finally Madam Pomfrey, our resident healer." The elderly witch smiled at her, her face filled with a motherly affection that no doubt won over her charges.

Introductions over, they looked at her expectantly, clearing her throat she began. "My name's Rebecca, Rebecca Charles. I don't know how I ended up here if that's what you want to know, I ran away and they almost caught me I just wanted to get to somewhere safe and it all happened so fast. One minute I was in the dumpster the next I was here." Realizing she had revealed more than she intended she dropped her head her face heating up.

"Why did you run away?"A squeaky voice asked, it was Pr. Flitwick.

"I had to, they were lying to me. They were going to do….something. I don't know what but it wasn't good, it's never good."She kept her head down

"Who are they?" another voice asked.

"I don't know, I thought they were my aunt and cousin but I heard them talking. They're not related to me. I was glad anyway, I finally had a god reason to escape, the only reason I didn't try harder before is because I remember my mother telling me my aunt knew what was best for me that she'd keep me safe."

But they hadn't, instead they'd tried to mold her some unknown image, and punishing her when she didn't perform as expected. Oh they had been careful not to be physical and leave marks but then the cruciatus curse didn't usually leave marks did it?

"You're a witch are you not?" McGonagall inquired.

"Yes I am."

"Then where's your wand?" Pr. Longbottom continued.

"I don't have one, they only gave me one for training, I tried to take it once but they caught me." And used the cruciatus curse on her until she lost consciousness, but she left that out. And all through the torture they kept telling her she was ungrateful and that they were trying to prepare her for something ad she would remember what her mom said that they'll keep her safe, so she convinced herself that that was all for her own good.

"Explain to us fully how you got here please." She did, and when the finished they were glancing at each other and back at her. "May we see the necklace please?" McGonagall finally asked, she immediately gripped her locket as if afraid they would take it from her and was immediately embarrassed by her actions.

"I'm sorry I.." her words were cut off by a yawn and her cheeks immediately flamed and when she thought things couldn't get worst her stomach grumbled or more like roar, she gave a mortified moan and hung her head. Pr. Flitwick chuckled and she looked up to see them smiling kindly at her, for some reason she suddenly felt close to tears.

"Forgive me Ms Charles, in our thirst for knowledge we forgot about your thirst or rather hunger for sustenance, I'll get one of the house elves to carry something from the kitchen ad we can continue this tomorrow when you're well rested." They rose and one by one, smiling or nodding in her direction they exited leaving her in madam Pomfrey's care. She disappeared for a few minutes, there was the slam of a door closing and then opening and a beautiful girl emerged with a tray laden with chicken, mashed potatoes, pudding and other assortments of delicious smelling food as well as a goblet of some sort of juice.

"Pumpkin juice." She supplied with a smile, "I'm victoire Weasley, madam Pomfrey's assistant. I'm training to replace her in a few years." She smiled looking very proud of her self.

"Oh." She stated, sounding stupid to her own ears. "That's very nice."

"Wow your eyes are beautiful!" she exclaimed then seemed to remember herself and blushed slightly. "Enjoy your meal, and finish your juice." She replied before disappearing with a smile. Rebecca didn't realize how hungry she was until the first bite, then suddenly the plate was empty, she felt fuller than se had in days and sleep was knocking down on her, barely managing to put her tray on the table she rolled back in the bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

McGonagall settled in behind her desk, she was getting too old for this. "She didn't tell us everything." Longbottom stated.

"I didn't expect her to, we still have a lot of unanswered question but I just wanted an idea of what we were dealing with." She replied rubbing her forehead wearily.

"And do you have an idea of what that is?" he asked

"Very old and powerful magic." Answered Flitwick.

"There are few types of magic today that can break through the protection of Hogwarts, especially now after the war. We employed some of the strongest protection spells known, but ancient magic will always be stronger and that is what we're dealing with. I don't know what's going on but something tells me it's just begun and there is trouble on the horizon."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rebecca stared around the large and clustered office in which she was now seated; the occupants of the portraits stared back. It was quite unnerving. She had woken up this morning to find that she had slept until almost 9:30 am. She never slept that late, she must have been more exhausted than she realized. After being shown to the bathroom and being supplied with a new set of clothes she was on her way. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror for a good five minutes staring at her reflection. Her face seemed slightly skinnier than she remembered it, cause while she has been lacking in many things at her house, food at not been one of them but her but her forced diet due to her running away had taken a toll on her. Her hair felt brittle to the touch and stuck out at odd ends, if her aunts, no not her aunts, if her kidnappers saw her now they would chastise her for not keeping her self decent. Funny how they could torture you one minute and be interested in if she was eating right the next.

Her musings finished she showered and dressed in a t-shirt jeans that were too short for her 5ft 6" frame, so that they were a little above her ankle. She was grateful none the less. When she exited it the bathroom Madam Pomfrey informed her that after breakfast she would be escorted to Headmistress McGonagall's office by Pr. Longbottom.

That had been almost half an hour ago, she had eaten an amazing breakfast and was taken to the strange office in which she now sat by way of several secret passages behind portraits who kept exclaiming If this was her or gasping at her eyes when she made eye contact. Pr. Longbottom informed that the took these passages to ensure she wasn't seen by too much of the student so as to start up any more stories but she was pretty sure the portraits took care of that just as well.

"So we have decided to let you stay at Hogwarts as a student if you would like that" McGonagall stated suddenly from behind her desk.

Well she wasn't expecting that, more questions maybe. Kicking out the strange purple eyed freak; most definitely. "Well if you would rather not…" McGonagall continued in a questioning voice as Rebecca only continued to stare at her.

"No id would love that!" she amended quickly "you just caught me off guard that's all. I thought you wanted to ask more questions or get rid f me I mean you probably have enough to deal with without me popping up…no pun intended" she finished lamely.

McGonagall smiled "Hogwarts will never turn away someone in need of help and I know you wouldn't have 'popped u her' as you put I if you weren't in real danger. And yes we do have more questions to ask you but I could also see you weren't quite comfortable with answering all of them just yet." She paused and looked at Rebecca to ensure that she was taking this all in. "While I wont go as far as to say we have all the time in the world for you to answer all those questions, we do have a little time so we can sort a few things out to get you more comfortable for the duration of your time here. Rebecca could not understand why she was being so nice when they barely knew her and she said as much. "We know enough, you're a young witch who is I need of protection and a safe haven and Hogwarts will be that for you, for however log you may need it."

"Thank you very much pr McGonagall." Was all she could say for fear of bursting into tears in front of the elderly witch.

"There are a few things that need to be sorted out though before we can progress any further. How old are you Rebecca?"

"I'm 15" she glanced u and caught the portrait of a pale, black haired, rather hooked nose man looking at her intensely as if trying to decide if what she spoke was the truth, she got the feeling he was not someone who trusted easily.

"I suspected as much." McGonagall was saying "There in lies the problem, although your age requires you to be in the fifth year we do not know the level of education you have received and if it would be fair to place you in the rest of the fifth year population."

She opened her mouth to reply but the portrait of the black hair hook nosed man beat her to it. "but Professor if she received no letter from Hogwarts as you had stated last night then perhaps her guardian had filed for a home schooling license and under the law she would be evaluated by someone from the ministry each year to ensure that her education was up to par. Isn't that so?" he turned towards her, his gaze sure as if he already knew her answer.

"Yes that's what I was trying to tell you, I have gotten lessons each year and at the end of the year someone comes from the ministry and gives me an exam." The house would be cleaned from top to bottom and pictures would suddenly appear one the walls, showing her smiling and going on trips, lies, all lies. She could count on one hand the amount of times she had left the house, half those times she had snuck out and been punished later. She didn't say tell them that though.

"Well now that we have that sorted out, there is only one thing left to do now." McGonagall stated smiling

"What's that?"

"Do the sorting ceremony!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rebecca was freaked out of her mind, was that part of the ceremony? What exactly was the ceremony? She didn't believe it could as simple as McGonagall explained it to her. Just putting on some old hat? Then again there was nothing normal about a talking hat.

She sighed and sat in on her bed. It was getting dark and she was once again in the hospital wing, although this time she wasn't alone. A boy looking no older than thirteen slept in the bed three rows down from hers. He had come in while she was away and would be spending the night madam Pomfrey had said. Oh well one less student to watch her sorting she thought, then immediately felt bad.

She was supposed to be getting ready but couldn't bring herself to it so instead she thought back to how she at spent the day. After McGonagall's announcement and later explanation of the sorting ceremony, Rebecca had brought up a growing concern she had. "But professor I haven't got anything to go to school with, no clothes, and books, nothing not even a wand."

"Don't worry my dear we've thought of that." McGonagall replied smiling. "It all happened rather quickly but we're used to working under pressure." There was a knock on the door and McGonagall told the person to enter, it was professor Longbottom. "Right on time, have you got everything sorted out?"

"Sadly I'm afraid not headmistress" he replied with a shake of his head. "We were ale to get the robes. Books, parchments, inks and the likes were never a problem as they were in the castle but I'm afraid Ollivander is unwilling to move the supplies here and she has to get a wand."

McGonagall sighed, "I was afraid of that, might be run by a different Ollivander now but same stubbornness."

"If I may?" asked a new voice, it belonged to a new voice, one of an elderly man with the longest beard she had ever seen. Then again that didn't mean much. He smiled at her and his eyes seemed to twinkle behind his half moon spectacles. "Moving Ollivander's wands to the castle for the wand selection was never a good idea. There is a lot to be said for the magic within the building itself and that too is important in choosing a wand"

"But Dumbledore what of the dangers?" McGonagall addressed to the portrait in a weary voice.

"Are we all not witches and wizards?" he asked in an amused voice. "a few simple charms should do the trick, though I believe those eyes may pose a problem." He looked straight at her as he spoke and somehow she knew he knew more than he was telling.

So it was decided that they would go to Diagon Alley, wherever that was. So they went to work, changing her hair blonde, giving her bucked tooth and changing her eyes to…purple? Try as they might her eyes stubbornly stayed the same swirling amethyst. In the end they grudgingly decided to us a pair of charmed spectacles which turned the wearer eye whichever color they choose by tapping it with a wand and saying the color, they choose brown.

"You will this to get to Diagon Alley." McGonagall said, pointing to an old tattered book. "You can apparated back to this office, seeing as she will have her wand by then. Keep her safe Professor.

"I will." He replied simply. "Put your hand on the book Rebecca" he said as the book started glowing. Then there was the familiar feeling of a jerk beneath the naval and being pulled into the darkness, as it did she could have sworn she heard McGonagall asking Dumbledore how he knew about her eyes. She was deposited on a cobbled and clattered street. "come." Pr Longbottom said pulling her to her feet. He had landed on his feet.

She tried to keep her eyes straight ahead but it was impossible, witches shouted and wizards on both side of the street shouted their wears. From potions to pygmy puffs, cauldron to quick quills. One shop was having a sale, 15% off on the new nimbus five thousand, now only 450 galleons.

They arrived at a nondescript little shop; it had a sign at the top of the door which read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. in the windows were several wands lying in boxes of different color fillings. "It was owned my Garrick Ollivander in my time but it's now owned by his grandson Godrick Ollivander. They have a thing for G names." He smiled as he pushed open the door; a little bell went off in the shop. A tall bespectacled man appeared from the shadows of the shop, he had receding hairline and what was left was black and peppered with grays.

"Aah so this is the new student in need of a wand." He stated smiling, he gave her the creeps. "Well as I understand you are in a rush so we shall not dally, let's get her a wand" But that was easier said than done, 15 minutes and more than a dozen wands later she still didn't have a wand.

"it doesn't have to be special you know, I always used whatever they gave me." She said feeling like a failure.

"And how did they feel and work?" Mr. Ollivander asked.

"Normal I guess, I don't know how they're not supposed to feel. Some felt stubborn in a way, as if they weren't willing to do the spells for me." She said as the memories came back to her.

"Well the wand you choose or the wand that chooses you rather will feel right, you will know it's the one you seek the moment you touch it. Pr Longbottom said smiling at her.

"Couldn't have said it better myself professor." Ollivander said, he paused for a moment with a thoughtful expression on his face. "I shall be right back." Was his only warning before he disappeared into the darkness. He reappeared with six boxes floating behind him. "These are some of the last wands left in the store that were made by my grandfather. "He said by way of explanation. "Choose one."

Rebecca made her way to the desk and made to pick up the second box when she felt a pull like sensation urging her towards the fourth box. She opened the box and picked up the wand lying inside. She felt sudden warmth blossom in her finger, with a small flick of her hands white orchids sprouted from the tip of her wand. "Splendid!' exclaimed Ollivander "Oak, dragon heartstring, 10 ½ inches. Very good indeed" it took her awhile to realize he was giving the specifics of her wand. He asked if she would want it packaged and she refused, she didn't want to part with it. Finally, a wand of her own, it felt right.

The bill paid for, her wand pocketed, they left the little shop into the seemingly over bright sunlight after the darkness of Mr. Ollivander's shop. "Are we leaving now?" she asked as they made their way back out into the busy street.

"Yes. I'd like to show you around more but we are on borrowed time so it's best we hurry along." They made their way to an empty alley and after checking to ensure it was indeed deserted they apparated. It felt as if she was being sucked into a vacuum and when it all cleared she was once more standing in professor or rather headmistress McGonagall's office. Only now she was the proud owner of a wand. It had been a great day, she thought smiling, things were looking up

The sound of the curtains around her bed being drawn brought her back to the present. She was being sorted, tonight and tomorrow she would officially be a Hogwarts student, she wasn't worried at all. Then why was her heart pounding. "Are you ready to go? Victoire asked her. She would be escorting her down.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She answered as they set off for the Great Hall.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"There are reports reaching back of a Hogwarts professor going to Ollivander's shop accompanied by a girl about fifteen or sixteen." Miralda said to her cousin as she entered the room. Seeing the stormy expression that came over her face she quickly continued, "it may very well not be her, the girl was bespectacled and had…'

"YOU KNOW VERY WELL IT'S HER!" Ivy screeched, interrupting her cousin. "Take the locket away I said to you, one simple job and you could not do even that!"

"We don't know for sure that is how she arrived at Hogwarts, it could have been the knight bus or.." again her words stopped this time by the icy glare of her cousin eyes, if looks could kill.

"Do not make excuses for your shortcoming cousin." She drawled in a deadly voice her hand twitching at her wand.

"You're right I'm sorry Ivy. But we have plenty of time before the summer solstice and who knows maybe her time spent at Hogwarts will be beneficial once the change is done." Miralda finished in a hopeful voice.

"Yes, you may be right; we must focus still on the task at hand. While she is at Hogwarts relieving lessons she would have gotten here let u ensure that we will have every thing ready in time. But we must not get too complacent; if she loses her innocence our hard wok will be all for naught and then we will have to kill her."

They walked in a comfortable silence down the staircase, she was only barely getting used to the fact that they moved at random, or seemingly random, as victoire had said everything in this castle moves with a purpose, even that crazy knight who was following them from portrait to portrait. "What happened to the little boy in the bed close to mine?' she asked as they made their way down the fifth floor.

"His name is Peter; he's on the Slytherin quidditch team. Broke his arm during the match today, Slytherin still won though. Another interesting season this will be." She finished running her hand through her pale blonde hair.

"Why is that?"

"I have family on almost all the teams." She replied with a laugh. "My younger sister Dominique is the seeker on the Slytherin team, my cousin Hugo is there keeper. My cousins James and Albus are on the Gryffindor team and my cousin molly is on the Ravenclaw team. It was quite a surprise to us when she stared playing; she's a great seeker too, although Slytherin won the match today. I fear Gryffindor and Slytherin will be going back to finals this year again and our family will be quite torn, as they were last year."

"Who won last year?" Rebecca asked.

"Gryffindor, thanks to a great save by Albus, I tell you it's not fair to have two of Uncle Harry's kids on one team. It's a good thin lily prefers books to brooms." They were now on the second floor.

"Your family sounds very big. It must be nice." She stated not without a little envy.

"It's a gift and a curse really. But I still couldn't imagine it any other way. We're here, let me have a look at you." Victoire finished in a surprisingly motherly tone. "Head high, back straight, don't let them know how afraid you are, they can smell it." She said with a teasing smile, this girl needs to work on her pep talks Rebecca thought as he tucked a stray hair behind her hair. Victoire had pulled her hair back in a simple ponytail which left her feeling exposed, especially where her eyes where concerned.

They entered the Great Hall and silence fell and restarted with renewed energy. She followed victoire over to where the teacher's table lined the hall facing the four house tables. In front on the teacher's table was a small chair, empty at the moment. McGonagall spoke, "Good evening students." The hall abruptly fell silent, the eyes of the students torn between McGonagall and Rebecca. "Tonight will be a first for Hogwarts, a new student is in our midst and as per usual she will be sorted into on of the four houses by the sorting hat. I know I don't have to tell you all to make her feel welcomed and whichever house receives her tonight will do its best to let her feel at home. Shall we begin?" she had addressed the question to Pr Hagrid who rose with something old and dusty looking in his hand. He placed it gently on the chair and Rebecca realized it was an old, tattered wizard hat. She stared and jumped slightly with what looked like a mouth suddenly appeared near the bottom of the hat and it sat there with an air of expectancy. She looked up at McGonagall who smiled and nodded. Hesitantly she walked towards the hat and the chatter which had started up again ceased, as she dropped the hat on her head she heard several people glance and caught snatches of the word eyes. Yeah and a talking hat is so normal, she thought and then jumped as she heard soft laughter behind her ears.

"Well this is unprecedented, but not unwelcomed at all. Such a desire to please and prove your worth, and you do have the ability to do so. But where will you be given the greatest opportunity to do so?" the voice spoke in a musing voice, almost to itself.

"Aren't I the one who should be asking you that?" she replied, unable to help herself. "I thought it was your job to place me in the house you thought I was best suited for." She immediately regretted her out outburst, but to her surprise the hat burst out laughing.

"Such cheek and gall not a shy one at all. I think you're best suited for GRYFFINDOR!' The last word was shouted to the room and she sat dazed for a few seconds trying to remember what table belonged to said house, she decided it was the one cheering the loudest with a red haired boy shouting "WE GOT THE NEW GIRL!"


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7**

"There she is!"

"Look at her eyes!"

You'd think spending most of the year in a magical school would have made them used to seeing unusual things but no, four days after apparating into Hogwarts and two days in the school community at large and they still stared at her as if she was some giant squid, but no that was perfectly normal! So busy having internal quarrels that she didn't see the tall red head boy in her bath until she walked right into him. "Ow!' she shouted when she collided into his chest. She stared up at him and he grinned mischievously down at her.

"Sorry about that.' He said grinning still, surprisingly it didn't make is apology sound any less sincere although he wasn't at fault.

"That's ok, it was my fault. I didn't watch where I was going." She said side stepping two hufflepuff first years charging past. "I'm Rebecca." She finished

"Oh I know, my cousins and I would just like to say thank you!" he positively beamed at her, it was kind frightening, a passing fifth year Ravenclaw she recognized from Herbology glared at her as she passed.

"Thank me for?" she asked in confusion.

"For allowing us some peace of mind. Since you've come here everyone's forgotten about us, you're the talk of the town. Even our 'fan club' has given us a moment of peace. Best believe we're making the most of It." that mischievous twinkle was back in his eyes but he must have seen the slight paling of her cheeks at the thought of being the talk of the town. She knew she was being talked about but she could pretend it was a small part of the school but his statement suddenly had her feeling like an insect under a microscope being watched and dissected by everyone.

"Fred why are you terrorizing the girl?" drawled a voice, breaking her out o her reverie. It belonged to a blonde haired, grey eyed boy. She recognized him immediately; where ever he was it was almost certain that he was with him.

"I'm not terrorizing her." replied Fred in an amused voice.

"Have you got another name for it now?" said another voice, one she has come to recognize in the short time she had been here.

"Hi. I'm Albus" he said smiling at her.

"I already know all your names you know, seeing as I have class with you and everything." she replied with a slight smile, he blushed slightly.

"Right, of course..." he seemed to be searching for something more to say.

"Your going up to the common room right?" she nodded. "Well that's where we're going too!" said Fred so enthusiastically that she a giggle burst out of her.

They started walking in a compatible silence until Fred spoke again, she had a feeling he didn't like things quiet. "So how do you like it here so far? we've only had a few classes together but seem smart for someone home schooled, not that there's anything wrong with home schooling I mean." he rushed on, Albus and Scorpius laughed at him

"How do you know I was home schooled?" she asked managing to keep the quiver of fear out of her voice.

"Well Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in this area and since you've obviously been taught we assumed you were home schooled" it was Scorpius who answered. "Unless we were wrong or something."

"No you were right, I was homeschooled." she said softly

A tall dark sixth year Gryffindor student came to a stop in front of them, she recognized him as David Thomas, one of James' best friends, he also had a sister in he hufflepuff, a third year she believed. "hi." he smiled at her before directing his attention to Fred, "James finished it, you've got to come see this." his excitement was obvious, Fred's face broke into a huge grin and with a quick goodbye he disappeared around the corner with David.

"I don't even want to know what he just finished" said Albus solemnly

"With our luck we'll find out anyway." replied Scorpius in a voice just as serious, for some reason she burst out laughing and was soon joined by the boys.

"Care to share the joke." came a voice as the rounded the corner, it belonged to Jessica Hall, a friend of Rose Weasley; they were always together in class. As if summoned, rose appeared behind her friend with another of her close friend Thalia Wynter in tow, Thalia smiled warmly at her. Of the three girls, Thalia had seemed most inclined to make conversation with her as an attempt at friendship, she had refuted all attempts. The last thing she needed was to make friends, get attached and then had it all pulled away from her, she would rather people think her cold. That was easier said than done though.

"We're not sure what the joke is yet but something tells me we'll find out soon.| Albus replied with a smile. At the girls confused look he told them of David's short conversation with Fred.

"That boy is always working on some new prank." Jessica sniffed scornfully

"I hope it's nothing dangerous, I don't want to have to take points from him." said rose sadly, her prefect badge gleamed on her chest.

"Depends on your definition of dangerous." Scorpius said, grinning at her. She blushed delicately.

"So what are you lot up to?" spoke Thalia.

"We were going up to the common room, not much to do now anyway." they had no more classes for the day, outside was bitter cold and dinner was not for another few hours.

"You have the rest of the day free and your going up to the common room? How drool. The lakes frozen solid, we're going skating. Why don't you join us, unless you have better things to do?' Her eyes went briefly towards Rebecca who felt her cheeks heat slightly, she wanted the boys to choose because she knew Rebecca would not want to go outside with them, why did Jessica dislike her?

Rather than wait for what would no doubt be an embarrassing event on her part she took the choice out of their hands. "I can't skate and I have my potions work to finish but I hope you guys have a good time." with a shaky smile she disappeared around the corner without a backward glance.

"Now that that's taken care of we can go." said Jessica with a smile, Albus didn't move, neither did Scorpius.

"What the hell is your problem?" Said Scorpius angrily, taking the words right out of Albus' mouth.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Jessica said stiffly

"That was kind of mean Jessie." supplied Thalia in a small voice.

"What? You heard her she didn't want to come anyway!" she glared at them as if they had done something wrong.

"No, all I heard was you being a bitch." Scorpius said viciously. She inhaled sharply as if punched. "And I expected better from you rose." he finished sadly

"What did I do?" she wailed at there retreating backs.

Albus looked over his shoulder at his cousin "it's what you didn't do." he saw the hurt expression on her face as they rounded the corner.

"I still don't understand why she's friends with that girl." said Scorpius angrily as they made their way to the seventh floor. "She only hangs around rose for status; she doesn't even care about her!"

Albus glanced at his friend, with a wry smile on his face. Only Rose could get him so worked up. They paused in front of the fat lady's portrait t say this password. This week it was "Dumbledore". The portrait moved to allow them inside and they were greeted by a blood curling scream. Rebecca was backing up towards the fireplace, her mouth open and her eyes huge against her now paler skin as two tall female figures clad in a black and grey made their way towards her with her with their wands pointed at her chest.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Fear, hot and heavy was upon her. The room was spinning and she was fighting the urge to pass out. "You thought you could escape us." they spoke in unison. "No matter where you go we will find you." her hand found her wand but she could barely manage to raise it much less to utter a spell. How had they found her?! "Your coming with us!" they were upon her now, it was all over.

"Riddikulus!" shouted a voice from far away, with a tiny scream the scene in front of her dissolved into smoke. She felt hot, especially her leg, really, really hot. She let out a cry as she saw flames licking her legs, she had backed up almost into the fireplace. "Aguamenti!' the soothing rush on water doused the fire and she collapsed onto James."Your ok, your ok." he sounded as relieved as she felt.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" The chatter which had started up ceased as everyone stared at a furious Pr Longbottom.

This was not how Albus planned to spend his afternoon. He looked around Pr. Longbottom's office where he, James, Fred, Scorpius and David were all seated and stifled the urge to jinx James. They had left the hospital wing a few minutes ago after Pr. Longbottom had ensured that Rebecca's burns were treated. Madam Pomfrey had requested she stay the night, much to her dismay, and had given her a potion for the shock and dreamless sleep potion even though it seemed too early to him.

"Will I be getting an explanation for what occurred in the common room?" Albus and Scorpius' eyes met across the room, before turning back to James and his cohorts. "Do I have to ask twice?" Pr. Longbottom's voice held no softness. This was not their "uncle Neville" who came for Christmas dinner, tried to beat Uncle Ron and Hugo at wizard's chess and laughed when they beat him in three moves. This was the one who argued with death eaters, who pulled the sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat, who slayed Nagini. Albus wasn't too pleased to meet him right now.

"It was my fault." said James in a resigned voice.

"It was all our faults." Interrupted Fred.

"Hey!" exclaimed Al and Scorpius at once.

"Well except for Albus and Scorpius, they weren't in on it."

"There's always a first time for everything." Drawled Pr. Longbottom sarcastically. "Now what exactly weren't they in on?"

"We came up with an idea to create some capsules that mimics the effect of a Boggart using certain potions." Pr. Longbottom paled a little, James gulped. "We were taking them up..."

"When I dropped one and before I could take it u Rebecca stepped on it and then those two creepy ladies appeared." Finished David, he was looking at his hands while he spoke.

"So you mean to tell me you boys created an extremely dangerous...' He seemed to struggle to find the right word for a minute "weapon! Because that's exactly what it is. And were careless enough with it as to inflict its effect upon an unknowing student. Do you have any idea how dangerous a boggart is? You can die from fear did you know that?!" he didn't give them a chance to answer "And then to have some unstable by product carelessly..."

"It's not careless, we tested it!" said Fred stupidly, he turned beet red as he realized his error.

"Tested it?" Pr. Longbottom echoed "On whom?"

"On ourselves and we uumm paid some..."

"No more, I don't want to hear anymore." He interrupted James

"Detention this and every weekend for the next month" They were outcries from all five boys of their quidditch match in two weeks. "Do you want to make it two months?" He asked smoothly. "You should be lucky I know your intention with this wasn't bad, but that doesn't mean you can put students in danger with your carelessness. I'll be writing all your parents and I expect all of those capsules to be on my desk by the end of the night. Oh and 30pts from Gryffindor each. You may go" He looked at them wearily and they exited quickly without a backward glance.

Rebecca walked slowly through the quiet castle, it was only 7 and she was on her way back to the common room. She gave the password at the fat lady's portrait and went inside almost running into James. "Hi" she mumbled in a small voice.

"Hey I just want to say I'm really sorry about yesterday, it was all my fault."

"Your fault? wasn't it a boggart?" she asked in confusion. James went on to explain his role in her "boggart attack."Oh well it was an accident so it's really no biggy." She said quickly, trying to end the conversation so she could get to her room.

"No it is, I could have hurt you so I'm really sorry." he looked so guilt ridden she felt bad for trying to get rid of him

"It's ok, really. No harm done right." she smiled slightly and placed an arm on his shoulder when a crash behind her made them jump.

"Hey sun shines" Said Scorpius sleepily with a lop sided grin. His blond hair sticking out at odd angles. "James Al's calling you." he disappeared back up the stairs.

"See you later." James said before following Scorpius up the stairs.

Half an hour later she was bathed, dressed and ready to go down for breakfast. "Hey I heard about yesterday, are you ok?' it was Thalia, the concern evident in her voice.

"I'm good really, thanks for asking though." They walked out of the room where Rose, Jessica, Albus and Scorpius were waiting for them.

"You guys ready to go?" inquired Scorpius.

"Umm I forgot something, you guys go on ahead." She lied

"No its ok, we'll wait." Said Thalia in a firm voice, her eyes on Rebecca leaving no doubt that she knew Rebecca was lying.

She went back to the room and sat on the bed. She couldn't avoid them forever and she couldn't hold up the facade of being cold and not wanting friends. It was already crumbling. She saw them then, standing in front of her, telling her she could never escape them. She didn't want to be scared of them, she was stronger than that. If they did manage to get her back, she wanted to be stronger. Knowing that she had met knew people, made friends, maybe even fallen in love? Back straight and mind made up she walked back down to where Al and Scorpius were arguing over quidditch teams, Rose was glancing at Scorpius when she thought he wasn't looking and Jessica and Thalia were talking about what their boggarts would be. She took a deep breath, walked into the group and said "I'm ready."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Now we all know of popular witches and wizards, some so popular they're stories ill no doubt live on for centuries in the wizard world. Whether it be for performing feats of great bravery or great wickedness. Can you think of any?"

They were in muggle studies class, she had chosen the same subjects she had been taught before coming to Hogwarts so that the transition would be easier. They had deemed it necessary for her know how the muggles thought and operated thus making it easier to trick them. Her aunts loved to say "If it is not necessary brute force and violence is not needed. Muggles are simple minded and greedy but they have their place. If we kill them who will be there to cater to our need once we have taken back our rightful place?" She always found it ironic that someone who seemed to thrive on violence could say that.

"Harry Potter!" Said Alexia Finnigan grinning at rose while answering the question Pr. Nott, a tall rather scrawny sandy haired man, had asked.

"You-Know-Who!" A boy shouted from the back

"Yes go on." The professor said with a smile.

"Merlin."Said Thalia, she was sitting on the other side of Rebecca.

"Yes, there's one I was looking for." He waved his wand and Merlin's name appeared on the board behind him. Thalia looked quite pleased with herself. "Today we will be discussing witches and wizards who are well known not only in the wizarding world but also in the muggle society."

"That's happened?" Asked a blond haired girl in the second row. It wasn't hard to realize she was from one of those families who knew little to nothing about the muggle world.

"Yes it has. Merlin is a prime example, so famous here he has his own phrases and followers, kind of like a early century harry potter. But unlike Mr. Potter he is also well known by muggles. There are stories, movies books and many others based on his "adventures". An while most of it is fabricated, the mere fact that he is know my muggles speaks for itself. Can you think of any others?"

"Santa Claus!' Shouted Thomas Flynn, a muggle born student. A few of the students laughed while some had a blank stare on their faces.

"That has yet to be proven or disputed as a matter of fact." Professor Nott looked like he too was trying not to laugh. "Some stories say he was a rich wizard who decided to give a few less fortunate muggles a better Christmas and thus began apparating from home to home. Some say he was the wizard version of Robin Hood, stole from the rich and gave to the poor. But those are just stories and as I said we have no concrete prove of anything." Thomas looked slightly put off.

"Morgan le Fay." It was Thalia again.

"I se you are quite versed in the Arthurian Legend he answered smiling pleasantly, she blushed. "10pts to Gryffindor. Where you find Merlin there is often mention of Morgan le Fay. They were said to be many things, mostly enemies though and she too as crossed over into the muggle world of story telling. "

They went on to discuss several others and were given an assignment of a witch or wizard of their choosing, the effects, both good and bad, knowledge of their existence to muggles has had on both society. 'Why do you take muggle studies?" Rebecca asked Rose as they made their way down to lunch.

"Even though my mom's muggle born and she still has certain muggle traditions, I still think there is more to be learnt especially if we want to continue to live and work side by side with them undetected. How can we expect to keep our existence a secret if we can't even tell a pound from a penny?"

"What are those?" Scorpius asked as he wedged his way beside them.

"Example A" Said Rose pointing at Scorpius.

"Rose cant you play quidditch?" Scorpius implored with sad eyes directed at rose who seemed quite startled.

"I'm sorry but I take after my mom in that aspect." Said Rose slightly breathless sounding full of regret.

"Your brother's smart and good at quidditch." Said James who had popped up at the end of the group.

"Well then why dot you go complain to him for being in Slytherin or better yet blame your self for getting detention."" She glared at her older cousin.

They had reached the table and sat down when a red headed boy with sky blue eyes came over and sat beside Rose. "Speak of the devil." Said Albus who was sitting right beside Rebecca, she hadn't even seen him join the group.

"What were you guys saying about me?" Said Hugo, eyes moving from one to the other, he had a calm appearance about him and for some reason Rebecca thought of the eye of a hurricane, tricks you into thinking the storm is over."Hi, I'm Hugo, it's nice to meet you." He smiled over at Rebecca extended his hand and she took it feeling a tad foolish. "So have you guys decided who's going to replace James and Fred for the match?" He asked while piling food onto his plate.

"Not yet, we're still deciding on it." Answered James.

"Better decide fast, I heard Hufflepuff has some secret weapon or something. You know their beaters finished school so they must have some new ones." As he finished talking he set out to making the foods on his plate disappear.

"Wonder who they are?" Said Scorpius worriedly. Their musing was interrupted by a grey and white barn owl landing in front of Jams carrying a plain white envelope.

"Thanks Merlin." Said James as he took the letter, the owl allowed himself to be petted before flying away. James opened the letter and there was an explosion of smoke, so much so that for a while Rebecca could see nothing but white though she plainly heard James saying "Oh crap.

The smoke cleared and in front of them stood a tall, red haired lady dressed ankle length gold colored dress, she looked beautiful and furious. She was also transparent. " I COME HOME FROM A FUNCTION PROMOTING SAFETY ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT MY SON, THE ELDEST OF MY CHILDREN WHO SHOULD BE TEACHING HIS SIBLINGS RIGHT FROM WRONG, ALMOST KILLED A FELLOW STUDENT!" The ghostly image of James's mom paused as if trying to calm down, it didn't work for while she spoke softer, her voice was deadlier. "James Sirius Potter I got 12 letters from the school about you last school year, it is barely three months into the school term and I'm already getting them. Make it the last one James or you can kiss quidditch goodbye." James who was already pale got paler still.

"Dad wouldn't do that" He whispered almost to himself.

As if hearing his son's plea a black haired man in round glasses that could not hide his green eyes stepped into view, he too was dressed in evening wear in a black and white tuxedo with his bow tie undone, his hair appearing as messy as Albus's. "And we are both behind this. I am very disappointed James, Its time you settle down and put your schoolwork first, make the most of the opportunities given to you. You will have all the time in the world to work on your experiments, after school." With that, the figures disappeared in a puff of smoke. Without a word James rose from the table and left, the eyes of the few students down for lunch followed him out. As he exited, another owl entered, carrying a similar looking envelope in the direction of a terrified looking Fred.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"So here are the final changes for the match tomorrow. Scorpius will now be playing seeker in my stead. Jordan will be filling in as chaser for Scorp and Micheals will be filling in as beater. Everybody ok with that?" The team nodded. "Then let's call it a night, get lots of rest and be out here tomorrow ready to win!" As James finished his speech the team members filed out, except Albus who stayed back to speak with his brother. It had been two days since the incident with the howlergram and James showed no sign of recovering that spring in his step that seemed to be missing.

"You coming Al?" Scorpius asked after seeing Albus' lack of movement.

"Go on up without me, I'm going to talk to James." He replied, Scorpius nodded and left the room.

"I'm fine Al." Said James before Albus could voice his concern. "Stop looking at me like I'm dying." He smiled at his brother, but it didn't really meet his eyes.

"You know not getting into trouble doesn't mean you can't have any fun."

"Funny, that's what it means to me." Said James angrily "And he's one to talk, look how much detention he got while he was in school!"

"That's not really fair James."

"I know but it makes me feel better. I just want to be something other than Harry Potter's son. If I catch the snitch in the first minute they talk about when dad caught it in his mouth, I can do a full patronus but hey Dad could do that in his third year. Sometimes it just gets too much. And as much as I want to follow in his footsteps, it seems like mine are just being blown away by the wind while his are set in stone." He ran his hand through his hair as he stopped his pacing.

"Well the truth is. Dad's are set in stone and they're not going away anytime soon. But you doing crazy stunt is not going to get you remembered are seen as a different person. They call you and Fred the new Weasley twin. You don't think t gets to me too? I'm compared to my grandmother I never met everyday in potions class. But it could be worst. They could say we're nothing like our parents. Instead they say we play quidditch like our father and his father before him. I've got my grandmother's eyes and her brains and you've got our grandfather's name and personality, and while he made a lot of mistakes he was a brave man who learnt from his mistakes and did what was right. I don't know about you but I quite like those comparisons."

James smiled at his brother, 'Your not supposed to be smarter than me, I'm older" He said finally.

"Details, tiny little details." They laughed and set off together to the castle in compatible silence.

"So Rebecca huh?" Said James finally

"Don't start." James laughed and ruffled his brother's already messy hair.

"Excited for your first quidditch match?" Rebecca smiled down at the red haired girl walking alongside them to the quidditch pitch; looking at her she could see the resemblance to the lady from the howlergram.

"Very, and I want to see who Hufflepuff's secret weapons are." She replied. She was dressed for the cold weather, along with the rest of the school, luckily quidditch was played in the sky as the ground was covered with snow, winter was rather early in her opinion.

"You're not the only one." It was Fred, all huddled up in winter gear and looking grumpy. "Man it's gonna be weird watching the match from the stand."

"Shouldn't you be in detention and where's James?" Thalia asked.

"He's helping with some last minute stuff, probably threatening the team." Replied Fred. They made their way over to the Gryffindor section, as Rebecca sat she realized that it had started snowing softly. "I just want to see the teams."

"The teams are coming out!" Rose shouted. "Are those? No, could never."

"It's the Scamander twins!" shouted Fred ecstatically.

Albus somehow managed to keep his mouth from dropping open but he was one of the few. "That's their secret weapons?! The Scamander twins!" Said Scorp in disbelief while a few of his team mates laughed.

"If Fletchley choose these then he must have a good reason, he's a lot of things but he's not stupid." Said James angrily, putting an end to the laughter. "Keep your heads together and don't let down your guard, we don't know what to expect." With a brief sad look at his team, he left the pitch and headed off for detention.

They met their opponent in the middle of the field, Pr. Wood standing between them. "Good clean game from both of you or you'll be off your broom faster than Dobby can fling a bludger. Got it?" They nodded and with the sound of his whistle and they rose high into the air, Albus immediately flying into his keeping position. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched the Scamander twins maneuver their Firebolt 360. They couldn't possibly know how to play could they? While both were undeniably brilliant in their schoolwork, Lorcan having been a hat stall between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and Lysander choosing (according to him) to go into Hufflepuff so as to join his brother, it couldn't be said that they had a pool of quidditch talent to draw. What the heck was Fletchley thinking? That became apparent rather quickly.

Scorp didn't have a good feeling about this match and it nothing to do with the slight snowfall that was now happening. He just wanted to find the snitch and end it. "Two minutes in and Gryffindor has taken control of the quaffle, Thomas passes it to Jordan and it looks like Gryffindor will-WHOA! Where did that come from?" A bludger had appeared out of nowhere coming at Jordan so fast he barely had time to dodge, losing the quaffle in the process. "And Hufflepuff now has control of the quaffle, Fletchley passes to Cattermole and she shoots, SAVED! No getting past Potter today" Dennis Creevey commentated. Scorpius was trying to watch the game, look for the snitch and keeping an eye on those twins who were making him uneasy. He saw a flash of gold at the corner his eye and with a small jerk he turned his Nimbus 5000 in its direction, the snitch zipped away and he urged his broom towards it, from the corner of his eye he saw Smith coming up fast behind him but he focused straight ahead, just a bit closer, he had almost stretched out his hand when he heard a whistle like sound, he turned to see the quaffle coming right at him. He spun his broom in mid air, feeling the bludger graze his back as it flew past him, by the time he righted himself the snitch had disappeared again and Hufflepuff had scored once.

Albus was still berating himself 10 minutes later for his lapse in attention. Too busy screaming for his best friend to look out he hadn't seen Blaise shoot one in the third goal. But Gryffindor had quickly made up for it, they scored 2 goals putting the match at 20-10 and it would have been higher if it wasn't for those damned twins. They were like some sort of quidditch freaks; did they read each other's mind? Their co-ordination was brilliant, as he watched Lysander hit a bludger to the far left and Lorcan seemed to pop up out of thin air to meet it perfectly and sent off towards Finnigan who was carrying the bludger towards the Hufflepuff goal, with a small cry she shot backwards, Micheals met the bludger with head on with a ferocious look on her face as she hit it towards Cattermole who had captured the quaffle, Lorcan intercepted and sent the bludger towards Thomas who was trying to get the quaffle from Cattermole, Thomas saw the bludger coming towards him and aimed his broom upwards but the bludger hit the end of his broom shaking it, he hung on for dear life as his broom span in circles, Albus heard something whistle by and turned to see the quaffle going into to the second goal. "Damn it!" he shouted angrily then froze as he Smith diving for dear life, a flash of gold in front of him.

Heart in his stomach scorp raced after Smith, even though she had a bit of distance between them he was the better flier. He could see the snitch a few inches ahead of her, she suddenly turned then rapidly changed direction as a bludger shot by Bones came towards her, the snitch dived down wards and Scorpius followed it, closer, closer… WHAM! Scorpius felt his broom fly out of control and saw the ground coming sickeningly close, with a thud he hit the ground, his fall softened by snow.

For a minute there was complete silence and then Scorpius flew to his feet, grinning like an idiot shouting "I GOT IT!"

Are all games like this?" Rebecca asked Lily.

"Not really, sometimes it's actually pretty dangerous." She smiled at Rebecca.

**(let me know what you guys think of my take on quidditch match as I'm still a little conflicted about it, hope you like it though)**


	11. Chapter 11

**(Sorry for the long wait, had a bit of writers block, hope you like the chap though)**

Chapter 11

She was walking through a long dark hallway with no idea how to get out. Both sides were lined with doors but all were locked. She walked until she came to the end and stood in front of a tall oak door, when she tried the door it opened. Inside was a circular room and the wall was lined with mirrors. Her reflection stared back, no not her reflection. A tall regal looking woman with eyes like her own, except they were lacking warmth, stared back at her. "MY vessel, you seek to defy me? Run from the inevitable? But you cannot escape your fate. We will find you and your purpose shall be FULLFILLED!" She screamed the last words and the mirrors broke, the deathly shards coming straight at her from all direction. She cried out and awoke with a start, her sheet tangled around her sweat soaked body. She had no idea how long she lay there shaking, the only sound in the room Jessica's small whimpering as she too endured an unpleasant dream. Sleep finally reclaimed her some time later and when she awoke the next morning she remembered nothing of the nightmare.

"I'll see you guys in a few weeks I guess." Sad Thalia sadly as they saw their friends off. The Christmas break was upon them and with it the Potters and Weasleys of the castle were leaving to spend the holiday with their large family. Rebecca was glad that at least Thalia was staying having declined to visit her grandparents in France with her mom and dad "They were never happy that my mom moved to England and decided to let me be schooled at Hogwarts instead of Beaubaxton where all the girls in our family have been going for generations. Every time I go they make some snide remarks as to how it's better than Hogwarts and my compare me to my stuck up cousin who is perfect according to them. I can't take it, I love Hogwarts and if I hadn't come here I wouldn't have met you guys and well…" her eyes had drifted to James who had been talking to Alexia Finnigan, a slight blush on her cheek. "Any way I'm spending Christmas here with you and we'll have a great time." She continued with a grin.

"I wish I could spend it here too.' James said sadly. He had intended to stay at school for the holiday to escape his parents, especially his mom, who he felt was still angry. As if catching wind of her son's plan, his mother sent a letter telling him that if he didn't come home for Christmas she would come and drag him home by his ear. Needless to say he didn't need telling twice. The carriages pulled and their friends boarded, they were being drawn by several creatures that resembled horses that had their skins removed, they also had wings. They were the strangest looking creatures she ever saw.

"Thalia what are those creepy looking things pulling the carriages?" She pointed as she spoke

You can see them?" Thalia whispered in an amazed voice.

"Of course I can see them, cant you?' She asked in confusion

"No I can't, only people who have seen someone die. Who did you see die?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly. Thalia looked at her worriedly before glancing back at the retreating carriages.

"Let's go inside." She said as she wrapped her arms around her body.

Rebecca was having more fun than she could ever remember in her life. Once Christmas break had begun and most of the school population had gone home it was as if the different houses had vanished. Yesterday she had her first snowball fight with the kids from every house including the Scamander twins who had stayed at school as their parents were on an expedition for the holiday. Then there had been an impromptu snow sculpture competition which included a giant whomping willow, a giant squid and the winning one done by Creevey, a depiction of the final battle between Harry Potter and Voldemort complete with an audience of both hogwartians and death eaters. It was now a day later and they were still outside as much to the students' pleasure the professors had been their secret audience and recommended that the sculptures stay for the rest of the holiday. They had finished up dinner in the Great Hall which now resembled a winter wonderland with giant Christmas trees lining it, the buzzing of the fairies decorating them were drowned out by the laughter of conversations between students and teachers alike. Snow fell lightly from the enchanted ceiling but vanished when it touched anything solid, much to the disdain of the house ghosts who the enchanted snow seemed to be settling on.

"Today was great wasn't it?" Thalia asked as she covered her mouth to suppress a yawn as they made their way to their beds. They were the only ones occupying the room now, not that either of them seemed to mind.

"It was fantastic! Best Christmas ever." Rebecca replied without hesitation.

"What was Christmas usually like with your umm…." She trailed off looking at Rebecca.

"My aunts, they were for all intent and purposes my aunts."

"But they weren't really your aunts?" Thalia inquired

"No, I always knew Miralda wasn't my aunt as she and Ivy are cousins but I just called them both my aunts, now I wonder if they were even really related." She finished a faraway look in her eyes.

That was the most Thalia had heard her speak of where she came from. She remembered how the boys had described the two ladies who had appeared after the capsule burst and could barely repress a shudder. "It's the night before Christmas; let's talk about happier things like you and Albus." Thalia said grinning.

"And you and James?" Rebecca replied sweetly causing Thalia's cheek to burn. She started giggling and didn't see the pillow coming towards her until it collided with her face. She stared at Thalia in stunned silence before screaming "PILLOW FIGHT!"

"Wake up." The voice repeated, shaking her this time.

"Just a little bit longer." Rebecca replied sleepily. They had stayed up all night pillow fighting with several other girls from different years who had joined it, it had been great fun but now even though it was bright outside, she was just starting to sleep.

"You have presents." Thalia supplied.

Rebecca opened one eye and peeped at her friend who appeared utterly serious, dragging herself up she peered over the end of her bed, and it was laden with presents of all shape and size. She continued to stare at them for a bit before finally coming off the bed to settle amongst them as she begun to open them one by one. Ten minutes later she was surrounded by torn gift wrappings and a beautiful enchanted diary from Thalia that opened only to the owner's voice speaking the password and hid its words from prying eyes, an assortment of Weasley products from Fred, a collection of wizard books story books from Rose who must have seen her love of reading, a sneakascope from Albus and many other gifts from several of the teachers and her friends. "Wow, this is the best Christmas ever." She managed tearfully after a few minutes.

"And it's only just begun!" Thalia said grinning, not knowing how right she was.

Breakfast was one of the most entertaining she could remember, with random gifts dropping from the enchanted sky at random intervals. When she left she was wearing a Santa hat, clutching a box of chocolate frogs, the Christmas edition, with white chocolate frogs and a surprise inside each, and a new wizard's chess for herself even though she didn't know how to play. Christmas dinner was even more amazing, and by the time she rose from the table she could barely walk but she did manage to get her new card pack, pygmy puff (jaxs) and every flavor beans up to the common room to find it packed with Weasleys and Potters of every house and set up for a party.

"What are you guys doing her?" Rebecca shouted over the noise of Lightning Scar playing on the magically magnified radio.

"We couldn't let you spend your first Christmas alone so we decided to come back and throw a party!" Albus replied grinning.

"So lets party!" Shouted Hugo, his hands laden with Butterbeer.

And so they did, until the common room was filled with possibly every kid staying at the castle for Christmas break. And still they partied until Pr Longbottom had to barge into the room and after silencing the radio, gave them until the count of five to find their respectable beds or risk detention, although Rebecca couldn't remember five coming after one in any scenario, but for him it did. The common room was empty in the blink of an eye and Rebecca glimpsed James and Thalia making their way past Pr Longbottom. The two had been inseparable after sharing a kiss under mistletoe; Thalia had finally gotten her guy. So with sunlight creeping through the windows, Rebecca went to bed officially putting an end to the best day she could remember.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The holidays were officially over. The New Year was now here but the Christmas that was effects of Christmas were still lingering, James and Thalia were now a couple, much to Fred's annoyance who claimed that being in a serious relationship was making James less of a prankster (he regretted that After James spiked his pumpkin juice and he was forced to sport emo hair for a week, with his hair changing color to match his emotions it was easy to see that he didn't find it funny). Rebecca was also feeling more at home with each passing day, it was hard not to when everyone treated her as if she had always been a part of the Hogwarts family.

"So we have a Hogsmeade trip coming up, think you'll be allowed to come?" Albus asked hopefully as they made their way from Herbology class to Care of Magical creatures.

"I'm not sure; I would have to talk back to professor Longbottom." It had already been agreed upon that for her own safety Rebecca would refrain from going to Hogsmeade with the rest of the students and though she badly wanted to go, she understood why she couldn't.

"Are you sure that's a good idea though?" Rose asked "If they thought those people would be dangerous enough to attack you or other students why do you think they would change their minds now?"

"It's been months, they must have given up plus how could they know she's at Hogwarts in the first place? They couldn't have wanted her that bad could they?" Scorpius turned his gaze to her and she tried to make her voice sound more hopeful than she felt.

"Yeah there's no way they could know where I am even if they're still looking could they and they could just use some concealment charm like they used when I went to Diagon Alley with ."

"Then it's settled then, to Hogsmeade we go this Saturday!" Fred said enthusiastically appearing from seemingly nowhere.

"Come in." She heard the voice answer after the second knock. She looked back at her friends who gave her thumbs up before walking in Pr. Longbottom's office. "Oh Rebecca to what do owe this unexpected pleasure?" He asked smiling, even as his gaze surveyed her sharply.

"I came to thank you for Gryffindor scarf."

"You did that already." He interrupted in an amused voice.

"Right" she said pausing and shuffling her feet. "Ialsocametoaskpermissiontogotohogsmeadethissaturd aywithmyfriends." She finished and took a deep breath, waiting expectantly.

"Could you repeat that please, slowly." He looked thoroughly confused

"I was wondering if I could go to Hogsmeade this Saturday with my friends."

"I don't think that's such a wise idea Rebecca, only you know the full extent of the dangers your guardians pose, do you think they would hesitate to cut down your friends to get to you?" He said in a gentle yet firm voice

"No they wouldn't." She answered in a small voice

"I'm sorry if I sounded too harsh about it but we only have your best interest at mind here." He finished.

"I know that, I do. I guess I just wanted a day where I didn't feel like I was in hiding. I mean what is I going to do when summer comes, I can't stay here and even if I do what about when I finish school. I can't hide from them forever; I can't let them rule my life." All the worries and dark thoughts she had been concealing had burst out of her. "I just want a normal life." She whispered, biting back tears.

"Don't make yourself sad thinking about those things that you can't change, you're here now, safe and sound. As for the rest we'll cross those bridges when we reach them and trust me they're already under construction. I'll se what I can do about Hogsmeade ok, but no promises." She nodded and made to leave when he said "Oh and Rebecca"

"Yes professor?" She answered pausing at the door.

"Normal is overrated, trust me."

"And please remember that your essays on magical water plants are to be handed in Monday morning, any later and you better have a very good reason as to why or its detention. Have a great weekend everyone."

Kids starting clearing out of the Herbology room, Rebecca was almost at the door when she heard Pr. Longbottom calling her. "Yes professor?" She answered once she had reached his desk.

"After discussing it with headmistress McGonagall we agreed that you should be allowed to go to Hogsmeade, seeing as your friends may manage to smuggle you in without our consent anyway." He finished and glanced at Albus who had heard and blushed, Scorpius laughed. "Come to my office tomorrow before you leave ok?"

"Yes sir." She replied grinning, before practically skipping back to her friends who were a lot closer to the desk than she remembered.

Christmas might be over but Hogsmeade hadn't gotten that memo. The small buildings were covered in snow, with several spouting smoke from chimneys. It looked like a winter wonderland. Snow had been falling when they left but had stopped now; leaving the town in a sparkling new coat of snow that was quickly being trampled on by eager Hogwarts students. "It's beautiful here." Rebecca said glancing around. "Where are we going first?"

""We'll go to Zonko's first and hopefully we wont lose you in the crowd Becca." Scorpius joked. Rebecca was once in disguise, this time however she was more heavily disguised. Her hair was as red as Rose's, She was also three inches shorter and thanks to the magical spectacles she wore she had eyes as blue as the sky.

"I don't like it." Albus said grumpily, not for the first time. He glared at her as if she was a Rebecca imposter "This is not how I wanted the trip to go."

"At least I'm here." She replied slightly angry and not sure why.

"Guys lets just try and enjoy ourselves ok? Rose interrupted in a wary voice.

So they did. They bought sweets at Zonko's, prank items at the Weasley's store. Had butterbeer with James and Thalia (who were not happy) and sent enchanted snow balls after Fred after he called Rebecca his long lost ugly cousin.

"You know I was kidding right Rebecca?" Fred asked as they made their way from the Hogs head back to the castle "you make a damn fine Weasley.' He finished, they all started laughing.

It happened so quickly they barely had time to react, Rebecca's glasses flew off her face and into the waiting arms of a man she had never seen before today, she had seen him several times throughout the day. "Now let's see those pretty eyes Becky." He grinned as he saw recognition flash across her face; only one person ever called her that.

"Hello Marcus, where's your other half?" She sounded more confident than she felt.

"Don't worry I'm right here." Another stranger, but she knew now that it was Samuel. They must have been patrolling Hogsmeade under the guise of polyjuice potion. To her horror two more men followed in Samuel's wake. "Now we can do this the easy way, just come freely and none of your friends well get hurt."

She knew first hand how competent and cruel Marcus and Samuel were at magic, she had unconsciously taken a step forward when a hand clamped down on her arm. "How about no?" Albus replied in a cold voice. As if by some unspoken agreement her friends started attacking. Rose made a shield in front of them, effectively blocking out Marcus and Samuel. Scorp fired reducto at one of the men who had followed behind Samuel; they had stationed themselves to the back. Fred fired a disarming spell at the other but he raised a shield spell just in time.

Spells flew back and forth so fast it was hard to keep up, Al and Rose were now dueling Marcus and Samuel was zoning in Rebecca, while Scorp and Fred battled the one stranger standing as the other had been knocked unconscious.

"She said we couldn't kill you but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun, does it?" He grinned and through the polyjuice potion she could still make out the man she despised. He flicked his wrist and ropes shot out coming straight at her, she sent a column of fire towards it, turning it into ashes and burning off majority of Marcus' eyebrows in the process. A cry came from behind her and she turned to see Fred writhing on the ground with ropes of fire coiling their way around him like a deadly snake. With a cry of fury Scorpius sent an exploding spell at their attacker, knocking him off his feet and into a nearby wall while Rose rushed forward Fred and pointed her wand towards him as she began to douse the fires on Fred. Al was left battling Marcus and Samuel, seeing this moment of weakness pointed his wand and fired.

Everything happened as if in slow motion to al, with a strangled cry he turned his direction from Marcus and brought up a shield between Rebecca and her attacker, deflecting the ugly black colored spell that had been going towards her. "NO!" He heard a voice shout out as he turned and saw a green flash of light shooting backwards, his brother had come out of nowhere and created a shield between what would have certainly been his meeting with death. Then James was beside him, is face set in anger and hand moving so fast his wand was a blur as he sent spells after spells at there opponent who was being overwhelmed. Scorp turned to join Rebecca in fighting Samuel as Rose continued to cut Fred free, careful not to cut him in the process. There was a blur of movement and the man they thought to be unconscious aimed his wand towards an unseeing rose and fired that same black colored spell. Scorpius shouted her name and before they could react he had launched himself between her and the spell. The moment it touched him, he seemed to glow black before crumpling to the ground. Rose gave a cry and run towards him, abandoning Fred.

It was all too much, as her anger at what was happening rose so did the feeling of immense power. The air seemed to crackle around her and her hair, which was now black again, rose around her as if she had been struck by electricity. Samuel backed up in fright and with a flick of her she hit him square in the chest with a reducto spell. He flew 20ft backwards into the wall of a shop; the spell had been the same color as her eyes. She turned towards Marcus but he was already gone, no doubt apparated. And then she was falling, her body drained and weak. Albus caught her in his arms and as the darkness stole over her she could have sworn she heard Hagrid shout "Merlin's beard!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"How could you let a bunch of kids overpower you?!" Ivy screeched at her two useless servants. "After all your training to be defeated by children!"

"It wasn't like that." Samuel said in a small but firm voice

"Then what was it like?"" Ivy replied coldly

"There were more of them than we expected, including children of Harry Potter, they were very skilled." Marcus answered grumpily

"THEY WERE KIDS! TRAINED IN THE WAY OF MODERN MAGIC, WHILE YOU HAVE BEEN THOUGHT THE ANCIENT WAYS!" Her eyes seemed to bulge as she spoke making her look quite demented.

"She channeled the ancient magic!" Samuel said in a shaky voice, missing the look of anger Marcus gave him.

"What?" Ivy's voice had taken on a calm tone, like the calm before the storm. If Samuel was smart he would have kept his mouth shut, sadly his brain seemed to have taken a vacation today.

"We almost had her but then she channeled the ancient magic and there was nothing we could do, she was too powerful"

"If she's channeling the power then things might be more difficult than we expected now." She spoke in a low voice as if to her self, her back towards the two men. "You are right, there is nothing more you can do." She whirled around so quickly they barely had time to react, wand raised, she screamed "AVADA KEDAVRA!" The jet of green light caught Samuel in his chest and flung him backwards, she turned to Marcus who raised his wand to fight but with a flick of her hand his wand flew from him, he turned to run and the spell caught him in his back. He fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She flicked her hand and fiendfyre erupted from her wand, she watched with a bored expression on her face as the bodies were reduced to ashes in mere minute.

"Miralda!" The door creaked open not a minute later

"Yes Ivy?" She asked as her eyes flicked to the now smoldering heaps of ashes o the floor.

"It seems there will have to be some changes to our plan, we will have to get the girl ourselves and we have little time to waste."  
"Then lets start our preparation then" Miralda answered as the door swung shut behind her.

For a few seconds she lay in the soft comfortable bed, blissfully unaware of what had taken place earlier. Then it all came rushing back to her, the fight, her friends, Scorpius. She sat up swiftly, and then fell back on the pillows with a small groan as the room swam. She saw a shadow coming towards the curtain around her bed and on impulse she closed her eyes and pretended she was still sleeping. "She's still sleeping" Albus said as he drew back the curtain, his voice held a note of sadness that made her heart ache.

"Has there been any change on my son's condition?" A smooth and refined voice said, it held a note of hopefulness as well as sadness.

"I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy but there's been no change, we're preparing some potions that will hopefully have better results." It was McGonagall who spoke.

"Hopefully?! I don't want hopefully, I want your guarantee that my son will be ok, he has to be." His voice cracked on the last line and Rebecca felt tears threaten to overflow.

She had no idea how long she lay there listening to Mr. Malfoy and his wife talk to McGonagall, Mrs. Malfoy wife calming down her husband when his temper threatened to get the better of him. Fred's parents came a few minutes after she awoke, from what she could decipherer Fred was asleep thanks to a sleeping potion, his burns and cuts had been healed but he would bear a few scars on his hand from an unknown curse used by one of their attackers. She could hear Rose crying at Scorp's bedside, telling him how she truly felt about him and how brave he was to save her. She could see Al sitting there but saying nothing, which was worst. Through all of this she stayed quiet, as guilt consumed her and tears flowed unchecked she stayed quiet. Everything was her fault, she never should have came here, never should have made friends with them. Now because of her Scorpius was in some deep sleep and no one knew what to do. Finally after what seemed like hours, sleep mercifully took her again.

She woke up and pulled back the curtains around her bed, the room was as quiet as a dead house, even though Rose and Albus were at Scorp's bed and James and Thalia sat at Fred's bed. Rose was the first to look up, her eyes held nothing but anger and hatred. "Are you happy? Do you see what you've done?" She pointed at Scorpius who was pale and unmoving, there was no steady rise and fall to his chest.

"No I never meant for this to happen!" She choked through her tears.

"But it did didn't it? And it's all your fault!" James glared at her; his eyes too were filled with hatred.

"You better leave before you bring more dead and destruction, haven't you caused enough?" Thalia all but spat at her.

"Al you have to know I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." She implored him as he sat with his back to her.

He turned slowly, and when he finally turned his eyes to her she felt her heart break at the hatred in his expression. "Prove it then, leave here and never come back. You only cause pain Rebecca."

They started walking towards her, a hatred filled mob of her former friends "Leave and never come back! You only bring pain!" They shouted together. With tears in her eyes Rebecca fled out into the darkness, the sound of their hate filled voice ringing in her ears.

She awoke in darkness, a sob escaping unhindered as the nightmare came rushing back to her, it had seemed so real she could still hear their voices in her head. She brushed away the tears that escaped as she rose out of the bed, her mind made up on what she had to do. Nightmare or not they were right, she only brought danger, the best thing for everyone would be for her to leave and never return.

She found her clothes, washed and folded at the foot of her bed. Dressing quickly but quietly she revised her plan in her head. If she was seen by anyone she would be forced to use stupefy on them, maybe a memory charm too. The idea made her skin crawl especially since she suspected her memory had been tampered with and so she decided against the memory charm in the end. She placed a disillusionment charm on herself before stepping out into the infirmary. The curtains around Scorpius' bed were partially drawn and she could see the outline of a man fast asleep in the chair beside his bed, his hand clasping his son's. For a few seconds it was like her nightmare all over again, it seemed to take forever before she finally saw Scorp's chest rise and fall and she was able to release that breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She walked over to his bed, careful not to make a sound. "I'm sorry Scorp. This is all my fault." She whispered tearfully. She brushed back a lock of blond hair and the moment she touched him she knew what to do, it was as if she was no longer in control of her body. She saw herself place her hand on his forehead and heard herself whisper ("Novo"). Purple light flared from her finger tips and seemed to disappear inside Scorpius, for a minute it seemed as if nothing had happened, then he gave a small shudder and his eyes flew open.

"Where am I?" He asked groggily, staring around the barely lit room.

"Scorpius?" His father said in an incredulous voice.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

"You're awake! Thank Merlin!" His father replied before bear hugging his son, Scorpius managed to look confused, happy and embarrassed all at once.

Rebecca heard noises from inside madam Pomfrey's room and realized she didn't have much time to get away. As she heard the door of madam Pomfrey's room being opened she opened the door to the infirmary and made her way out. With each flight of stairs she took, the pounding in her chest grew harder; it's for the best she told herself repeatedly even as tears ran unchecked as she forced herself to leave the only home she ever knew, the only place that ever made her feel safe. She had just descended the last flight of stairs and was making her way to the door wondering how she was going to open it when someone grabbed her by her arm and pulled her into the darkness behind the stairs.

"Where the hell are you going?" It was Albus, he was red eyed and glaring at her angrily, she felt her stomach knot; it was her nightmare all over again.

"Let me go Albus" She said through gritted teeth as she tried to move out of his grip.

"You're not going anywhere until you answer me? Your trying to leave aren't you? I knew you would try to do something stupid." His green eyes seemed to glow as he continued to glow angrily at her.

"I don't have to explain myself to do" She replied angrily.

"Yes you do, we're your friends. After everything you were just gonna sneak out in the middle of the night without even a goodbye? He sounded sad and angry at the same time and she barely managed not to break down.

"It's for the best, I have to go."

"Best for who? What do you think is gonna happen the minute you get off Hogwarts grounds? Damn it do you want to die?!" He snarled at her.

"No but I don't want you guys to die either!" She flung back at him "It's all my fault Scorpius and Fred are up there. " The tears she had been holding in spilled over.

"No, its not." Albus whispered in her ears as he gathered her close. "We made the decision to stand and fight with you, knowing full well what the consequences could have been. And I think a part of you knows that, there's another reason you want to go isn't there?"

Rebecca stiffened and backed away from him wiping the last of her tears. "I want answers." She replied, finally voicing what she had been afraid to say out loud. "Even more so after what I did yesterday…and tonight"

"What did you do tonight?' Albus asked in a weary voice as if afraid to hear the answer.

"I woke up Scorpius." She whispered, Albus' face broke out into a big grin.

"That's fantastic!" How did you do it?"

"That's just it, I don't know. There's so much about my life that's a mystery and I'm tired of it. I want t know who I am even if it means going back to the place I tried so hard to finally escape from."

"Rebecca..." Albus said in a strange voice

"No you can't change my mind; I'll fight you if I have to."

"REBECCA!"

"WHAT?"

"Your locket is glowing."

Rebecca looked down and was surprised to see her locket was indeed glowing an eerie blue, how the heck did she miss that?

"Maybe we should see why its doing that.' Albus suggested as he made to touch it.

"No!" Rebecca shouted but was too late, the moment his hand touched it, there was a familiar tugging sensation below her naval as she and Albus were swallowed up into the darkness.

(thanks for the continued support and hope you guys liked the chapter)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Albus fell in an undignified heap beside Rebecca, disoriented and a little worried. He got to his feet and held out his hand to help up a wide eyed and frightened looking Rebecca. He was about to ask where the portkey/locket had dropped them when he heard Rebecca cry out "Mother!" Albus turned to see her running towards the large bed in the middle of the room. On it lay a lady with eyes like Rebecca's, except where Rebecca's seemed alight with life and energy, hers were dull. Her hair hung limply on her shoulders, it too reminiscent of Rebecca's. Albus had no doubt that this woman would have been the doppelganger for Rebecca but now she was emaciated and frail. Death seemed to hover near by, and according to Rebecca she had died so how could the locket have brought them here?

Rebecca reached her mother and reached out to take her hand, it passed through her as if made of smoke. With a gasp she jumped back and stared at Albus "What's going on?" she asked in a scared voice.

"I think your necklace brought us into a memory." Albus said slowly. "Although I have no idea how it did that"

"Look!" she said pointing at her mother's neck where the locket now lay; she absentmindedly touched the one at her neck.

Albus was just starting to wonder why they were brought here as nothing was happening when the bedroom door opened. A tall slender lady with midnight black hair and kind grey eyes walked in, her face laced with sadness, dried tears where visible on her cheek. Even in sickness the similarities between the two ladies were remarkable.

"Please lizzy, don't do this. I can tell her your story; don't waste the last of your strength on this." She choked through tears.

"What if, god forbid, something happens to you too? I can't take the chance Dani. And as much as you hate to admit it even if I don't do this I don't have much time left so I might as well use the last of my strength to make sure my baby's safe." Her voice was hoarse and week, her speech interrupted by bouts of coughing. A babies cry broke through the silence that followed her speech, Dani seemed torn between leaving her sister and attending to her niece, "Tend to her, I'll be ok," A prolonged bout of coughing followed and the pain was evident on her sister's face as she left the left the room, closing the door behind her.

"I don't remember her" Rebecca whispered as she wiped tears from her eyes. "I was three when my mom died and I still remember her, being healthy and everything but I have no memory of her." She looked towards the door as she spoke.

Albus was about to reply when Rebecca's mom started talking. "I hope I'm making the right choice. Dani always used to tease me about being over prepared but then again she escaped the curse, or blessing. If you're here now Rebecca that means you wanted answers and your had the age to understand these answers which you seek, it also means that for whatever reason Dani isn't there to give you these answers." As she spoke she stared ahead of her, but her eyes seemed to roam the room with a wistful look as if trying to imagine where her daughter stood. Rebecca sat beside her on the bed, her hands on her mother, who could not feel her touch. The sight broke Albus' heart. "Our eyes are both a blessing and a curse. It's passed down to the some of the females in our family and marks us as powerful witches who are said to be descendants of Merlin himself. But it also marks us as the means by which a great evil may return, we are said to be the vessels. A vessel for who I cannot say, though I have tried long and hard to find out. That secret died long ago and is well protected by the same people who wish to use us for evil, the people who took your father from me." Her eyes travelled to a photo on the small table beside the bed, Rebecca turned and with a small gasp tried to take up the picture frame, but her hands went right through.

"I've only ever seen one picture of him." Her hand went to her locket as Albus walked over to peer down at the picture. A blond haired, browned eyed man smiled back at him, beside him was...Rebecca? No, Albus did a double take before realizing the laughing lady beside him was Rebecca's mother.

"You have his smile." He said solemnly.

"When they took your father from me I lost my self in revenge and hatred, trying to change myself, getting rid of this curse as I saw it. But I know now that I was wrong. If we are to ever have any peace we must not shun what was given to us because without we will need it to defeat the same people to seek to control us. The process is said to involve necromancy, one of the darkest branches of magic. Through great magic and powerful sacrifices I've managed to keep us safe for years wile trying to find a way to reverse this. But it also weakened me and I know I shall not see the end of this week.' She paused; her eyes were filed with tears. Albus could see the toll this was taking o her as she drew on the last of her reserves. Rebecca was holding herself stiffly; as if afraid she would break. "I hope, oh I hope so much that you will never have to see this, that you and Danni are protected until you are able to protect yourself because Rebecca you do have the power to do so. Don't abuse it, use it well and above all don't be ashamed of what you are because. I was and I spent wasted years and energy trying to change something that was unchangeable. Embrace it, before it's too late. And know that no matter what I love you and I'll always be with you." Her voice broke on the last word and she lifted her frail hands to the locket which glowed at her touch.

"Mom" Rebecca whispered as the tears finally came, she bent down and kissed her on her cheek, hoping that somehow she could feel it. And as suddenly as it begun it was over. They were at the bottom of the dark stair and Rebecca's heart as breaking. She stood there with tears streaming down her face, she didn't see Albus coming towards her until he wrapped his arms around her, it all became too much. She cried for the father she never knew, the mother who gave up her life trying to give her a better one and she cried for the aunt she never knew.

Albus rocked her slowly, losing track of time as his legs grew numb on the bottom of the stair. After what seemed like an hour she whispered against his tears stained shirt "I want to remember."

"What?" Albus asked.

"They made me forget things, people. I want to remember it all" She answered fiercely.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

'Why can't we do it now?" Rebecca asked, sounding like a needy child.

Albus stifled a smile, through everything that had happened he was happy. His best friend was on the way to recovery and he and Rebecca were…well he wasn't sure what they were at the moment but he quite liked it. He tightened his grip on her hand as they made their way up the stair. "Because it's about 3 in the morning and although your wide awake most of the castle is fast asleep, including McGonagall and we would need her help to get your memories. And I don't know about you but I'm not interested in finding out the consequences of waking up our headmistress after hrs, when we should be sleeping." He finished.

"You think she'll be able to do it?"

"Sure thing, and if she can't do it I'll call aunt Hermione to the rescue. She knows everything about everything."

"Thank you, for everything. It means a lot" She smiled shyly at him, her eyes telling the depth of her feelings. They had never spoken aloud that they liked each other but had that moment Al had no doubt it was mutual

"It's—"

"GRYFFINDORS OUT OF BED! GRYFFINDORS OUT OF BED!"

"I really hate you right now peeves." Albus all but growled at the poltergeist who sticked his tongue out at him and disappeared through the wall, his job done.

Rebecca giggled at his mutinous expression before dragging him along in the direction of the infirmary.

"And be quiet; don't want to wake up everyone." Rebecca whispered as she pushed open the door." Her mouth formed a perfect little 'O' as they were met by a very bright and very active room.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Charles how nice of you to finally join us." McGonagall said with a twinkle in her voice that belied the firmness of her voice.

The pair let go of each other's hand as if it burnt, they're faces a vibrant shade of red. Scorpius laughed and Al tried to glare at his friend but failed miserably, grinning like a fool instead.

"You ok? He asked smiling

"I'm getting there." Scorpius replied smiling, his eyes drifted to Rebecca and she knew that somehow he knew that it was her doing.

"Would you like to tell us where you two were just now?' McGonagall asked as Rebecca sat down on her bed, Albus occupying the chair next to a sleeping Fred.

"I went for a walk, and ran into Albus." She answered smoothly

"And I was on my way to visit Fred and Scorp." Finished Albus

McGonagall eyed them wearily and behind her Scorpius mouthed "Smooth" at the two of them, Rebecca barely manage to stifle her smile.

"You know you're not allowed out of your common room after 9pm Mr. Potter." She said, zoning in on Albus.

"I know that, I couldn't sleep so I thought I would come on check on my friends." He sounded so sincere McGonagall looked abashed.

"I'll let it go this time but don't make a habit of it." She rebuked as she rose to leave. "Ms. Charles, a word with you please."

She glanced at Al who looked worried and curious at the same time.

"Yes Professor?" She asked as they came to a pause outside of the door.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with Mr. Malfoy's miraculous recovery now would you?"

Rebecca paused for a moment, afraid to tell her but at the same time knowing it would be best if she did. Taking a deep breath she told her what happened, while modifying it a bit.

After a long pause she finally asked "And your walk was simply that, a walk?"

"Yes, I just needed to think about a few things." She wasn't sure why but she felt the need to keep what had happened tonight between Albus and herself; it was too fresh and personal.

"Well when you feel the urge to take another walk, make sure it's not after hours or I'll be forced to deduct house points."

"Sorry."Rebecca mumbled, afraid to look her in the eye. "Oh umm can I ask you something?"

"You already did." McGonagall replied straight faced so that it took a minute for Rebecca to realize she had made a joke. "But you can ask me something else." She continued with a smile.

"Do you know how to unblock memories?"

"Unblock? And do you know what has blocked these memories so to speak?" She answered, suddenly serious once more.

"Most likely the obliviate memory charm.' She answered hesitantly.

"Most likely, but not always. That charm is not the only magical means of erasing or blocking a person's memory, and trying to recover said memory without being sure may prove dangerous to the patient."

"Oh." Was all she managed to say as disappointment rose inside her.

"Who are we talking about Rebecca?" She asked in a soft voice, Rebecca was sure she already knew the answer.

"Me, I think Ivy and Miralda may have tampered with my memory and I want it back."

McGonagall smiled and nodded at her "And we shall get it back. Be in my office tomorrow at 6 and we shall progress from there. Now go and get some rest." She finished in a firm but warm voice.

"Thank you." She replied as she watched the elderly lady disappear into the barely lit passage way. She turned to head back inside suddenly feeling exhausted when she ran into Albus.

"Sorry, Victoire ran me out. Said Scorpius needs his rest, like he hasn't been sleeping all day."

Rebecca stifled a yawn as she made to answer him. "Oh you must be exhausted and I've been keeping you up, I'm sorry." He continued in the same rushed voice. "Good night." Before she could react he kissed he swiftly on the cheek and then disappeared into the darkness. She stood standing in a daze, her hand on her cheek and a slight smile on her face, her first kiss. That counted right?

She was still trying to decide if it did as she strolled inside "Becca?'

She jumped slightly and turned towards Scorpius "Sorry I was umm, Where's your father?" She asked quickly, out of real curiosity and the need to change the topic.

"He left a while ago, I kinda forced him to." He answered sheepishly.

"Why would you do that?" She inquired as she made her way over to his bed.

"I needed to talk to you; I know it was you who made me wake up." He whispered, Becca felt her good mood evaporate, for some reason she felt dread crawling up her skin.

"How?"

"I don't know but I do. I saw things while I was asleep. It was a nightmare. Things about you, and a lady who looked like you. I saw your story." He finished looking straight at her.

"Tell me."


	16. Chapter 16

(Sorry for the long wait, i've been busy and sick :/ hopefully you guys like the chp,let me know. I know i changed some myth in this but i went with a little creative freedom so tell me what you think :) )

Chapter 16

The moment the spell had hit Scorpius it had felt as if he were trapped in two worlds while not fully in either. He was partly aware of what was going on outside his body, Rose whispering at his bedside, Al checking in on him and Fred, his father crying at his bedside that this was his punishment for the wrong decisions he'd made when he was younger. The latter had been hard to hear, but try as he might his body would not respond to his wishes and wake up to ease his father's pain and guilt. None of this was his fault. But he couldn't tell his father that, as the longer he was unconscious the more it seemed he was being pulled into a nightmare against his will. It had been there since he had first been hit by the curse but at first it had been only whispers and flashes, but by the time his father had come it was getting hard to separate his reality from the nightmare, until he was completely immersed in it.

At first he kept seeing the same lady with raven haired and swirling amethyst eyes. She looked like Rebecca 10yrs later, except the images that accompanied her were not of the future but of the past, and as he looked closer he realized he was not looking at the same lady but different generations of ladies who bore a striking resemblance to each other, to Rebecca.

"The carriers of the curse we were called. Our beauty shall mark us, our power, our destiny, our curse." It sounded as if a dozen voices were speaking in his head, as the voices spoke images flashed before him. A man and a woman dueling, the woman had red hair and swirling green eyes, her eyes were filled with malice, the man she was dueling reminded him of Dumbledore with unfashionably long beard and eyes that seemed to see everything.

"Morgan Le Fay never forgave Merlin for her defeat and eventual imprisonment. She lost everything that day as she was finally exposed for what see was, a conniving witch and practitioner of some of the darkest forms of magic. She sought to ensure that Merlin lost everything and even though she was imprisoned she still had loyal followers. Several attempts were made of the life of Merlin's wife but none were successful. Time was running out for Morgan but there was still so much she wanted to do, a fire burned inside her to create the world she always dreamed of without threat of Merlin in it, and so she came up with an idea that solved both problems. Using dark magic she cursed Merlin's female bloodline, when the time was right a powerful descendant would be born and through her Morgan le Fay would be able to re-enter this world."

As the voices spoke visions of what they spoke about flashed before his eyes, Morgan le Fay in her cell, writing on her cell wall, female followers dressed in black cloak carrying out her deeds, a small raven carrying message to and from the prison, a crying of a new born baby girl and the gasps of those in the room as she opened her eyes to show swirling purple eyes.

"How is it that they have purple eyes while Morgan had green?" Scorpius wondered aloud. The voices answered.

Purple is a color that signifies great power, the combination of Merlin and le Fay's bloodline created very powerful witches, and they're eyes mark them as such. Throughout time we have been outcast, condemned and worshipped and we have all met too early an end, be it by our hands, the hands of those who fear us or those who wanted to control us." Again images flashed before Scorpius' eyes and he averted his eyes from the horror of it.

"Why are you showing me this?"

"So you can help my daughter." A single voice spoke. A woman appeared out of nowhere, misty as the ghost who roam the castle her beauty was visible nonetheless, it was easy to tell Rebecca would look very much like her mother in later yrs. "My daughter seeks answers and even though I've tried to give her some, I fear it is not enough. With knowledge comes power and if Rebecca is to once and for all accomplish what we all tried but failed to do for so many generations she needs to know what she's up against, who she's up against." Again he saw her story as she spoke, her struggle, her pain. Abandoning her family to keep them save, finding love only to have him killed before her eyes, years wasting away trying to find a way to reverse the curse, protecting her daughter, reuniting with her sister and spending the last of her life doing all she could to protect her daughter.

"Rebecca is our only hope, our last hope for peace." Rebecca's mom had disappeared and the voices spoke again.

"What do you mean your last hope; you're already umm well dead aren't you? Wait am I dead?" He started to panic as he realized he could no longer hear the outside world, was he going to be trapped here forever?

"You are not dead but you are correct we are. But this is not the place that the souls of those who have passed on go to. This is limbo, we are forever trapped here, not ghost but not souls at rest, and until the curse is reversed we will never fully find peace." He could hear the pain in their voices, he felt for them.

"How am I here then?" He asked trying to fight the rising panic.

"The spell is an ancient one, used for both good and bad. If the correct spell is known it is no danger to awaken the victim but the longer you stay here the harder it will be to awaken you and the stronger the wizard performing the spell will need to be."

The place suddenly felt very small, the air was stifling, he didn't want to be stuck here, he'd barely begun to live, and he hadn't even kissed Rose yet! With a groan he fell to the ground barely realizing the voices had ceased. He felt the air shimmer and he looked up and saw Rebecca's mother beside him. "You need not worry; she will know what to do. She might not realize it but we each inherit the skills and knowledge of those before us, our mind knows when to do it even if we don't." She paused and seemed to take a deep breath, even though it wasn't needed. "Will you tell her how much I love her; I don't want her to think everyone abandoned her. And I'm so proud of her; I wish more than anything that I could have been there for her." Her voice was heavy with tears and her eyes simmered.

"She knows how much you love you her, you don't have to-"He broke off as a weird sensation flew through his body.

"It's time." She said with a sad smile "Tell her our story, leave nothing out."

Scorpius watched as Rebecca wiped her eyes. She had succumbed to the tears at the mention of her mom, he didn't blame her it was emotional for him too. "So that's how you knew I was the one who woke you up?" She asked as she rubbed her nose.

"Yeah, that's how I knew. I didn't want to say anything in front of the others" He replied

"Thank you, for telling me all of it."

"It's what your mom wanted." She hugged him clumsily and after thanking him again she said she needed some time to herself and retreated behind her curtain, he could hear her crying. He knew the main reason for her tears, knowing her mom was not at peace but instead trapped in limbo, which was why he had been fighting an internal battle about telling her but he knew in the end that secret wasn't his to keep so he reluctantly told her. With a sigh he rolled over and as he drifted to sleep he could have sworn he felt a kiss n his cheek and heard a familiar voice say "Thank you."


	17. Chapter 17

(**this chapter doesnt have much action wise, its just kind of a filler chapter, hope you like it. Oh and check out my new one shot, its not connected to this story)** Chapter 17

Has it really been just a few months? It sure felt longer. It felt like she had matured 10yrs since she first set foot in Hogwarts and the last few days alone accounted for half of those. As she lay in her bed, hidden from the world by the curtain that hid her from the rest of the infirmary, she thought about all she had discovered since coming here. The curse could be broken, if she accepted all the parts of herself? "Ok I accept that I am a powerful witch who could also be used as a weapon for evil." She waited silently, nothing? Yeah she didn't think it would really be that easy but it was worth a shot. Whatever it took to reverse this thing she would do it, her mom was depending on her. The curtain pulled back suddenly startling her out of her contemplations.

"You're awake." Victoire said smiling down at her; really there was no need for the girl to be that pretty. "I was coming to check to see if you were ok."

"I'm ok thanks." Rebecca replied sitting up in her bed. At the sound of her voice a blonde head of hair looked up and she met the eyes of Draco Malfoy, she saw his eyes widen slightly before he looked away to what someone out of her line of vision said to him.

"…something to eat soon then you guys can leave, well except Fred." Victoire was saying to her in a sad voice. "He needs to stay a little longer, those burns are being stubborn." Rebecca felt guilt weighing down on her, hot and bitter. "It's not your fault Rebecca." Victoire said softly as she read her expression.

"It's hard not to think so when they were protecting me." She replied, the curtain wasn't drawn far enough for her to make out Fred's bed but she could hear voices coming from his direction, his parents must be back to visit.

"By their choice, they could have run or handed you over; instead they stayed and fought with you knowing what the consequences could have been. And I'm pretty sure he would do it again if it came to it."

"Tell her Vicky!" Came Fred's voice from behind her before he appeared around the curtain grinning.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?!" Said a very red Vicky

"Hey don't kill me I'm sick!" Fred laughed as he dodged his cousin's outstretched hand.

"Get back to bed Fred." Victoire ordered in a stern voice.

"I was just checking on Becca." Victoire kept looking at him "Ok so I heard my name and got curious, btw v I feel great, do I have to stay another night?" He implored while making his best sad face, his cousin was unfazed.

"Yes you do now go back to your bed." She grabbed him by his ears and started pulling him. Rebecca started laughing and through the side of the curtain she say Scorpius' dad fighting to keep his face straight.

She pulled back the curtain to change quickly and have her breakfast, when she finished and emerged from behind it the room was a hive of activity. Albus, James and a very red Rose were now in the room along with Scorpius' dad and very pregnant mother. A tall handsome red haired man with a warm smile sat my Fred's bed laughing at something his son said. When he turned to look at her, Rebecca barely managed to keep in a gasp as she saw that he was missing an ear, he winked at her. "So I'm gonna have a little sister?" Scorpius was saying to his mom with a big grin. "What are you gonna name her?"

"After another constellation. Fred's father answered. Mr. Malfoy looked like he wasn't sure whether to laugh or hit him with a jinx. Everyone else laughed

"Actually I'm trying to change that tradition." Scorpius' mom Answered. "We have our own little galaxy now; we can leave the skies alone and come back to Earth."

"How about Venus?" James inquired innocently, Al hit him in his head and this time Mr. Malfoy did laugh.

"We'll let you know." He answered smiling as he helped up his wife.

"And you must be Rebecca" She smiled warmly and held out her hand. "I'm Astoria Malfoy, Scorpius' mom as you may have guessed, this is my husband Draco Malfoy." Rebecca shook both their hands. "Alas our meeting has to be cut short as we're leaving now but it was very nice meeting you and nice seeing all of you again. Rose keep him out of trouble for me." She smiled knowingly and Rose blushed and mumbled a response, Draco looked from his son to Rose with an expression of dawning shock. "Come on Draco." Said Astoria with laughter bubbling in her voice they exited the room.

"I don't need an introduction as I'm quite famous" Fred's father piped up, filling in the awkward silence.

"Actually I don't know you." For some reason Rebecca felt comfortable with Fred's father.

"Where have you been?! In a cave?" He asked in mocked outrage.

"Kind of."

"Uncle George believe it or not, you're still unknown to some people." Said Rose laughing

"I don't believe it, now get your behinds to class while I tell my son some pranks he needs to pull, I mean shouldn't pull for the rest of the year." Fred seemed a little bit happier at the prospect of spending the day with his father and with goodbyes and promises of goodbye visits they streamed out the room.

"Felling better Scorp?" Rose inquired as they made their way to class.

"Not yet." He paused abruptly before pulling Rose to him and covering her mouth with his, Rose seemed to melt against him instantly. After what seemed like forever they parted. "I feel much better now." Said Scorpius smiling as he held Rose's hand

"About bloody time." Grumbled Al.


	18. Chapter 18

**(This chapter is quite long, I was going to split it but felt I owed you guys for all the too short (in my opinion) chapters I've been posting, so hope you like it)**

Chapter 18

"You guys did all of this without me?" asked Fred glaring at them angrily.

"Yeah I can't believe you went memory diving without us" Scowled Scorpius.

"At least you got to visit limbo." Fred replied. "All I got was dreamless sleep, damn potion."

"Hey the memory thing wasn't exactly planned, none of what happened was planned really, it just sort of happened." Albus answered.

They were in the infirmary huddled around Fred's bed. They had finished the last classes for the day and made their way back here by some unspoken consent. His father had already left and he was reading when they entered, reading the only book Rebecca ever saw him read for fun "A guide to marauding" which she understood was a compilation of information on pranks done by The Marauders and The Weasley twins.

"Who are the Weasley twin? She asked suddenly. After a slight pause Fred answered.

"My dad and his brother, Fred." He stated. "I was named after him."

"Oh, oohhh." She said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, He was killed in the Hogwarts battle. He was just 19. They say I look just like him when he was my age, well my dad too I guess." She didn't know exactly what to say to that, an awkward silence ensued.

"Hey who died?" Said James as he and Thalia came inside. Rebecca almost laughed from the irony of his statement.

"Where have you two been? You missed all the excitement of last night." Fred replied quickly.

"What excitement?" Thalia asked, Al and Scorpius replayed the night's events to them.

"Wow, you guys suck." James pouted after they had finished, Thalia giggled.

"Anyway, name calling and childish actions aside how about we have an actual productive discussion that might lead us somewhere." Rose interrupted, glaring at Fred and James who looked like they were about to speak again.

"So we have to start training Rebecca to unleash her awesome powers so that she can fight off those old hags and reverse the curse?" Fred asked.

"Sounds like a nice plan but I don't think reversing the curse is that simple or it would have been done before. Your right about one part, I need to start training so that next time they try anything I'll be prepared."

"You seemed pretty prepared to me with that awesome glowly thing." James said smiling.

"I don't even know how I did that and if I was really prepared none of you would have gotten hurt because of me." No matter what Victoire said she still felt guilty about it.

"That was our decision, don't blame yourself for anything." Albus said softly as he took her hand. Warmth seemed to spread from her stomach straight to her toes. James cleared his throat and she jumped then blushed guilty. Al glared at his brother who started to laugh then stopped when Thalia hit him on the head.

"You're all crazy." Rebecca said smiling "How will we ever get anything done?"

"I believe a little craziness is needed in all of us. It's like that muggle thing, a vaccine. You need a little in you to protect you from getting anymore. The real crazy people are the ones who have no tolerance for it." Fred finished his little speech with a wide grin, Rebecca started to say something but paused, he actually made sense, scary.

"Anyway, like Rebecca she needs training, something tells me that the next time they try something they won't be using someone else to do the dirty work." Rose continued.

"I was thinking the same thing. We don't know how to reverse the curse just yet, so in the mean time we need to focus on what we do know."

"That's all we and good but we need somewhere to practice and plan in private, any ideas?" Thalia asked.

"I got a few." Albus answered as everyone except Thalia and Rebecca exchanged knowing looks.

"Care to fill us in? Rebecca asked, before anyone could answer McGonagall walked in.

"Ms. Charles can you come with me one minute please?" Her friends exchanged worried glances as she slipped out of the chair and made her way over to the headmistress. Her confusion must have shown on her face for once they were out of the room McGonagall smiled and said "I see you've forgotten our conversation last night."

"Our convo- ooh" She slapped her palm against her forehead as the reason for McGonagall's visit became clear. "You found away for me to remember." She asked as excitement and trepidation bubbled up inside her.

"Yes I have, and if you still want to-"

"I do" she interrupted before mumbling sorry.

"As I was saying if you still want to, make you way to my office in ten minutes and we can begin, the password is 'acid pops'. You can get a chance to tell your friends where you're going, if you want to tell them why that is up to you." With that she turned and strolled away.

Her friends managed to hold in their curiosity, for about two seconds, before they started bombarding her with questions

"What did she want?"

"Are you in trouble?"

"It was James' idea!"

"Hey shush!" She said as the questions continued endlessly. "She said she figured a way for me to get back my memory."

"Well it's reasonably easy for a skilled witch for wizard to reverse the obliviate spell isn't it?" Rose inquired.

"Knowing those hags they probably used something different and more dangerous." Spat Scorpius.

"Scorpius is probably right and I think McGonagall thought the same thing." She remembered the worried look on McGonagall's face as she asked her if she was sure, but she wasn't going to tell her friends that. "Well I guess I'd better head off now." She said into the awkward silence.

"Rebecca wait." Albus called after her as she made her way out of the room. "Are you sure about this?" He asked once they were outside of the room.

"Yes I'm very sure." And she was, she was afraid of what she might see but she knew she had to go through with it nonetheless.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"I don't think McGonagall would make me do something that can kill me." She answered with a forced smile.

"There are worse things than death." He replied solemnly.

"Don't you think I know that?" She replied angrily. "It might be the only chance I get of figuring out how to reverse the curse and free my mother."

"Your right, I'm sorry I didn't think." He looked like he wanted to say something else but was unsure of what to say.

"Well I guess I'd better-"Her words were cut off by Albus' lips on hers. How had she not seen that coming? His lips were firm and insistent. He may act nervous at times but there was nothing nervous about him now. One hand moved up to the back of her neck while one held her hip as his mouth moved over hers. All coherent thoughts were scattered, what was her name again?

Just as she was starting to think her knees would collapse he released her. "Good luck." He said softly, he kissed her again, on her cheek this time, before disappearing inside.

By the time she reached the headmistress' office the effects of Albus' kiss had worn off and she could once again form complete sentences. She gave the password and entered the office. It hadn't changed since her visit, cluttered but neat at the same time; she wasn't sure how that was even possible. 'I see you found your way." McGonagall said as greeting as she made her way in. "Have a seat."

She took the seat directly in front of McGonagall. "After what occurred at Hogsmeade we thought there might be a possibility that your memory blockage may not be the work of an obliviation spell but something older and more powerful. This potion should counteract its effects." With a wave of her wand a small glass bottle appeared on the desk, it contained a light blue liquid that seemed to swirl as she looked at it, she could swear she saw images inside. "It's a memory retrieval spell. It is a very strong potion."

"I want to do this." She interrupted before McGonagall even asked, the elderly lady smiled.

"I didn't expect a change of mind but if you don't mind I'm curious as to what bought on this thinking?" Rebecca had been expecting this and was still contemplating if she should tell her everything; the portraits in the room watched the conversation with an air of interest. With a small sigh she told her story, neatly editing certain parts she thought were too personal.

"Very interesting." The portrait of Albus Dumbledore said when she had finished. "And you have no memory of your aunt?"

"None." Rebecca replied tightly.

"Performed by a powerful individual the obliviate spell can erase years of memory with little or no effect as shown by a bright witch I knew. But to successfully cut out sections, like erasing certain paragraphs on a page, while leaving others untouched but giving the reader of the impression of a whole new story being told, that is much harder and more prone to leaving effects if too much is done, unless a more powerful spell is used."

"So we were right then?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes I think it's safe to say we were." He replied with a slight nod. "Are you ready then Ms. Charles?"

"Yes I am." Rebecca answered in a shaky breathe as she opened the bottle and downed the contents. The room swam and McGonagall's voice seemed to echo as she asked if she was ok, she closed her eyes and when she opened them she was somewhere else.

"Come Becky, it's time to go." Her aunt said has she picked her up, wait picked her up?

"Mama?' She heard herself ask

"She won't be coming with us honey." Her aunt sounded close to tears and her eyes were red and puffy from crying already, her mom had just died. Rebecca was seeing the memory through her own eyes, as if she was experiencing them for the first time, she could feel her own confusion and sadness and her aunt carried her to the kitchen. A tattered book lay on the table; it glowed briefly before returning to normal. Her aunt grabbed it and she felt the familiar jerking sensation below her naval. They reappeared in a dark and musty room, suddenly candles were lit and the room was bathed in light. It was a small nursery; small but neat, it was to be her new home. Her aunt put her in the cot while trying to hide her tears. "It's time for your nap Becky." She kissed her on the forehead and left the room as Rebecca drifted off to sleep.

She awoke with a start, her young body alerted by some unknown sound. "Auntie?" She cried standing up and holding on to the rails. A scream splintered the silence, her aunt was being tortured. Cries came from her lips as fear rose in her, even though a part of her knew it was just a memory she had to fight not to be overwhelmed by emotions of her younger self. A cold voice uttered words and green light flashed before everything fell silent. Her door opened suddenly and two ladies walked in, she cried and backed away as they came closer.

"Do the spell now before she loses control, even now she is powerful." A third voice spoke from the doorway. Ivy pointed her wand at her and the scene changed.

She was older, about seven and she was in her room awake even though she should be sleeping. She didn't want to sleep; she wanted to read. Without a second thought she set off towards the library. As she came closer she heard voices inside. The door was slightly ajar and so she peeked inside. "What if all this promised glory is a lie. We could have our own, we're powerful enough. Instead we spend our life trying to bring another to glory and she might turn on us." Elizabeth was speaking, she knew the name now. There were always three of them, how could she have forgotten.

"It is not our duty to question her, she is the reason we are so powerful. She has blessed our bloodline and in return we serve her." Miralda said angrily.

"Well I question her. I say we kill the girl and end their bloodline while taking her powers!" Her eyes seemed to glow as she spoke, she looked quite crazy.

"You think you'd survive long enough to enjoy that? She might not have a body but she still knows how to get things done. You have failed before you even begun." Ivy's hand seemed to hover by her side where her wand was kept. Suddenly the room erupted into action Elizabeth disarmed Miralda while Ivy sent killing curses at her which she blocked, she was quick but outnumbered. Miralda had done wandless magic and with a wave of her wand Elizabeth erupted in flames. Her screams filled the room, Rebecca was frozen in place, with a wave of her wand Ivy hit her with a killing curse and her screams were cut off abruptly. With a small gasp Rebecca made to run when something wrapped around her legs and tripped her, she rolled over and saw Ivy standing in front of her.

"Please don't kill me." She sobbed

"You don't have to worry about that….yet." She pointed her wand at her and the scene changed.

"She's more powerful than we realized, she's perfect for the rebirth. If we could just tame her more." Miralda was saying angrily. "Maybe we should let her keep the memories, see what we're capable of doing instead of what we pretend to be."

"And let her try to get away from us? Plot against us? She is hard enough to train as it is but she still trains. What do you think she would do if she knew the whole truth?" Ivy hissed at her. "We have accomplished what none before us have been able to do, we've had her since she was just a babe, trained her and come time we will be able to complete the rebirth."

"And if she discovers how to reverse the curse?" Miralda whispered so low she had to strain to hear it.

"How can she reverse what she doesn't know about? And even if she does figure it out she will never be able to do that. She is too weak to do the sacrifice required." Ivy answered scornfully.

"What have we got here?"Marcus growled while grabbing her by the neck. "What a little eavesdropper you're becoming."

"What's going on out here? Exclaimed Ivy as she opened the door.

"Little vermin was spying on you Ms. Ivy" Marcus answered as he thrust her forward.

"I only just came." Rebecca lied.

"We'll just about that. Legilimens" Before Rebecca could react's mind was opened to Ivy. Images of her seeing the earlier conservation flashed in her head. She felt Ivy retreat from her mind. "Don't lie to me again." She said coldly before backhanding Rebecca. The force of the blow sent her to the ground. "You're lucky I'm feeling sympathetic today.' She raised her wand and the scene changed.

It was evening and she had free time, no practice, no studying. That was rare. Although there wasn't much to do she still treasured the little time she had to herself. Lost in thought she bumped into Marcus.

"Sorry." She mumbled trying to step away. She hated Marcus, he gave her the creeps.

"I'm not." He grinned at her. "You've grown into a nice little lady you know." He rubbed his chubby fingers against her cheek.

"Don't touch me!" She exclaimed and took a step back.

"Don't act like you don't like it." He growled grabbing her arms hard enough to bruise her. "I see the way you walk around here, you want me and you might as well enjoy it while you can." He said with a sick laugh at his own private joke as he pulled her towards the small broom closet.

"Let go of me!" She cried as she fought against him

"I know just what you need." Without warning he covered her mouth with his cutting off her scream. He thrust his tongue into her open mouth and she bit down hard.

He pulled back with a cry of pain and slapped her sending her to the ground. "You stupid bitch." Tears welled up as she tasted blood.

"Crucio!" Ivy screeched, she was red with anger. "HOW DARE YOU!" She exclaimed over Marcus' screams of pain. "You dare to put all our hard work at risk" If she expected an answer from Marcus she wasn't getting one, he lay unconscious and twitching at her feet. Rebecca expected her to kill him but instead she turned her attention to her.

"And you." She cried angrily. "This was your doing wasn't it? Whoring yourself for the likes of him."

"I didn't do anything!" She exclaimed without thinking and received another slap across the cheek, she stumbled but didn't fall this time.

"Don't you dare talk to me like that you lying your, just like your mother, spreading her legs for the first man that smiled at her, corrupting herself."

"My mother wasn't a whore you're just a jealous old hag!" she screamed. She saw Ivy flick her wrist and pain erupted all over her body, she fell to the ground. She heard herself screaming but was unable to stop "I hate you, I hate all of you." She spat, surprised at the venom in her own voice

"Do you know the opportunity you have been given you stupid little girl?" Rebecca heard it then, hidden beneath the anger was her jealously.

Even as her common sense and aching limbs protested she laughed. "You're jealous of me aren't you? You pathetic old woman." Ivy screamed like a banshee and her body was on fire once again. She screamed until she was too weak to do more than whimper. She was surely going to die…

"Rebecca, are you back with me? Rebecca?" McGonagall's worried voice came through the haze of pain that surrounded her. She opened her eyes and saw that she was on the floor of McGonagall's office with the headmistress kneeling in front of her looking worried. Her face was wet with tears and something else, blood, she was having a nosebleed. She tried to stand up and would have collapsed if it were not for the help of McGonagall. No sooner had she sat down than she threw up on the carpet in front of her.

"I'm sorry." She said weakly as she wiped her mouth with shaking hands.

"There is no need to apologize. I should never have let you gone through with it." As she spoke she waved her hand and the mess on the floor cleared and Rebecca felt the dried blood disappear from her face.

"If you hadn't helped me I would have found away to do it myself." Rebecca said honestly. She felt exhausted, her body ached as if she had just experienced everything for the first time, in a way she did. "I don't regret it; I only wish I had known everything so I could have tried to get away sooner." She never thought it was possible to hate someone so much that it burned just to think about them but she did now. She wasn't as weak as Ivy thought, she managed to escape them and no matter what the cost she would she would find a way to reverse the curse.


	19. Chapter 19

(Soooo sorry for the long delay, I havent ditched the story just got way busy but here's a new chap :) )

Chapter 19

"Reducto!" Rebecca shouted at the dummy that flew at her. She sometimes found it funny that having escaped from the sisters and their harsh treatment she was now partaking in some of the very exercises she detested such as training, and she loved it.

It was two weeks after the Hogsmeade incident, as it was being called and things were finally getting back to normal. She had stopped expecting an attack at every corner, almost. Fred was out of the hospital and as normal as her was before, which isn't saying much and the school community had somewhat quieted down about the whole incident.

Three life size dummies came at her with wands raised, wearing black robes and she sent stunning spell at all three in rapid succession.

"Not bad." Said Scorpius.

"But not much different. I've gotten angry, I've meditated, I've done everything and I haven't channeled any new spells and some spell have only been what slightly stronger when I get angry. I thought you said I had all the knowledge of those before me." She glared angrily at Scorpius as if blaming him for her inability to perform

"They did, but they also said when needed. This is just training, so until you actually need it, like say to rescue a friend, maybe you won't actually do it." Scorpius answered as he plopped down on a cushion.

"So for now its best we focus on what you can get better at, like nonverbal spells and the rest will come later…when needed." Albus finished with a smile.

She lowered her wand and walked over to where the boys were congregated. They were in the room of requirement. They had introduced her to it after making plans to begin training. They had been coming here for over a week now, whenever they had free time.

"Take this book from me, without saying a word." James said as she sat down. He was sitting a few feet from her on a cushion with a book in his hands. Before Rebecca could attempt anything the door opened and Rose and Thalia walked in, an air of sadness hung around them.

When Jessica didn't return after the holiday, Thalia and Rose had gotten worried, about the only two people to do so. They sent her several letters but they returned unopened. Jessica soon fell into the background when the attack at occurred and it wasn't until Rose received a letter from Jessica's mother that she took priority again. They learnt she was in St. Mungo's after an accident involving doxy venom. After begging and bargaining and a little help from Rose's mother they were able to secure a one hour visit with their friend.

"How is she?" Scorpius asked as Rose sat down beside him.

"She's good; she'll be out in about a week they say.

"Well that's good, she lucky. Don't know how she managed to have an accident with doxy venom, that thing's really bad." James said seriously.

The two girls exchanged glances before Thalia spoke "It wasn't an accident, she tried to commit suicide."

Silence followed Thalia's revelation until Fred exclaimed "Why would she do that?" He looked as confused as he sounded and for a split second Rebecca felt like laughing.

Again the girl's exchanged glances, this time it was Rose who spoke. "Jessica's a werewolf."

"Merlin." Scorpius said softly.

"And again I ask why would she do that?"

"Not every family is as werewolf friendly or comfortable as ours Fred." Albus chided his cousin.

"You have werewolves in your family?" Rebecca blurted out.

"Not exactly. One of our uncle was attacked by a werewolf a while back, even though he was in his human form there was still some side effects and Victoire's boyfriend, Teddy, his dad was a werewolf and my dad was really close to him. My dad's Teddy's godfather and teddy has some wolfish tendencies even though he's not a werewolf." James answered.

"Our families been around it all our life, heck it is part of our family. Our whole family is closer to the werewolf society than most wizards because of all the work our parents did to get better laws or them after the war." Albus finished.

"Wow, I never knew." Said Rebecca, she could hear it in their voices that they were proud of their family, no matter what.

"So where that topic is concerned, we are more familiar and comfortable. Not to say if someone got bitten it wouldn't be seen as a bad thing, it would be. But it wouldn't be seen as the end of the world and they would never have to worry about being treated like an outcast."

"Sadly we can't say the same for all families." Thalia murmured.

"Jessica's mom was kind of distant. Like she loves her but is afraid of her too and kind of ashamed of her, I bet even some of her relatives don't know jessica's a werewolf. Plus there was this tension in the room between them like something happened between them during the holiday that was partly to blame for what Jessica did."

"No wonder she spent so much time away from her parents and spent most holidays at your place Rose. How long have you guys known?' Scorpius asked.

"About two years. Remember we weren't that close before then. Like everyone else we couldn't stand her. But it was Thalia first who realized that she kept pushing people away because she would watch some of the girls playing with this expression of longing. Then we started getting suspicious. Remember Jason?" The boys nodded but at Rebecca's lost expression Thalia filled in.

"Jason was this Ravenclaw boy who had a big crush on Jessica and she embarrassed him in front of like half the school during breakfast one morning."

"Kid left the school; hear he goes to a school in America now." James said screwing up his face. "I remember why I don't like her again."

"Well what you guys don't know is that she spent most of the night in the bathroom crying because she did like Jason but thought she was a monster and monsters don't date. Don't you realize she rarely talks to guys and only for a little while?" Rose asked.

"I don't pay much attention to her love life." James mumbled.

Thalia rolled her eyes and continued. "When Rose told me what happened we started watching her. Didn't take long for us to figure it out. She made us promise not to tell anyone once she realized we knew."

"I told mom though, so that anytime she had a problem we had someone we could go to for advice, outside of school. Now I wished I had told Uncle Harry so he could have talked to her parents and helped them through this, preventing all of this."

"Hopefully she'll get the help she needs now."

They lapsed into a thoughtful silence, everyone thinking about what they might have done or said that might have helped led to this and what they could have done differently to prevent it.

"Scorpius are you still playing with that?" Asked Rose in an annoyed voice.

"I'm not playing with it, I'm checking if it's grown back."

"Of course it grew back, my spell worked just fine." Rose complained angrily while her friends laughed, somewhat relieved by the change of topic.

Rose and Scorpius had been bickering about the same thing for a week ever since a bird swooped down and took a clump of Scorpius' hair while going for his Honeydukes sweets. It had left a nice little patch in Scorpius' head and he was still self conscious about it even though Rose had made it grow back.

"Hey Rebecca I was wondering if most of the ladies before you died young, some pretty young, how was the curse passed on?" Scorpius asked as Rose snatched his hand away from his hair.

"I wondered about that a bit. I don't think it can only be passed down from curse bearers to their kids, my aunt wasn't one but she could possibly have a child who is a curse bearer. I think you just need to be a blood descendant. Like if I died the curse could continue with a sibling if I had one but since I don't…"

"The curse would die with you." Albus finished. "I know what you're thinking." He pinned her with his stare until she lowered her eyes.

"You know I had a thought about that"  
"Rose if it has to do with Rebecca dying shut up" Albus said fiercely.

"Not exactly." She withered under his glare "Shutting up now."

"I can take care of myself you know." Rebecca said softly.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." He replied, effectively shutting her up.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Jessica's coming back tomorrow." Thalia whispered as they sat in potion's class.

"That's great." Rebecca replied as she added her eye of newt to the cauldron then watched as the potion changed to a dark purple, a little too dark she thought but at least its not black like Fred's who was busy flirting with the pretty ravenclaw to see what he was adding to his cauldron. She only hoped any explosion would only take out his desk. 'So she's fully healed then?" She asked.

"Physically anyway. Uncle Harry's set up a few sessions for her with one of the workers at The Den. He usually only works with those who have recently changed, helping them come to terms with it but he said since it looks like she never had any proper guidance after she was attacked, it's as if she was just attacked anyway." Even as she talked Rose added ingredients one after the other, it seemed so effortless to her, the potion had settled into a nice purple just as described in the book.

"Whats the den?" She asked as she bottled her potion, it might not be perfect but it was close.

"It's something my parents and Uncle Harry made. Its many things depending on what you need. It's a shelter for werewolves passing through, a home for those without and in time of war a neutral territory for those who just want a place to relax. You can get Wolves Bane potion, help if you're newly changed and help in finding a job."

"Wow. That's awesome!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"It's even more so when you see it in person." Thalia said smiling." we help out there a bit during summer holidays. It's pretty cool, although we get sent away when full moon comes. Maybe you can check it out with us when summer comes seeing as you're staying with Rose." Thalia said grinning as she bottled her potion, its coloring similar to Rebecca's.

"And remember that's with me not Albus so no overnight visits." Rose mock scolded with a grin as Thalia scooped up their potions and carried it to the desk.

"Ha Ha, funny." Rebecca replied even as her face warmed. "Maybe I'll just stay at The Den.

"Yeah like that would happen, especially after what happened two years ago." Rose answered seriously.

"What happened?"

"Not all werewolves feel that The Den is so awesome. Some think behaving or accepting the ways of us mere witches and wizards are beneath them and any werewolf who does so has shamed them. Two years ago some of them attacked The Den on the full moon, it wasn't pretty. Four people were killed and a lot more injured, two volunteers were bitten. The Den is heavily protected so the attack and the severity of it was a surprise, turns out one of the volunteers was working for them and helped to remove enough of the protective spells to allow them inside. Since then protection has increased but all the adults are stricter about our coming and going there, it was a full year after the attack before I was allowed back and before that I practically lived at the place."

"You guys suddenly make my life seem so normal, almost boring." Was all Rebecca could say as they packed up, it was the last class of the day and she for one was pretty beat.

"You boring?Never." Said a voice laced with laughter behind her.

"Hi Hugo."Rose said without turning as her brother came up beside her, "Were you just waiting out her for us?" She inquired.

"Something like that" He grinned impishly showing tiny dimples, "I have a message to deliver." He turned to Rebecca as he spoke, a knowing smile on his lips as he handed her the folded parchment.

"Thanks." She told him as he nodded and swaggered off. "He's soo…" She tried to find the right word unsuccessfully.

"I know." Rose supplied as they started laughing.

'If you don't open it I will.' Grinned Thalia, Rebecca needed no second warning.

"Meet me at the room of requirements after class, Albus." She read aloud for her friends.

"So what are you waiting for?" Rose asked smiling.

"Huh?"

"It's after class dummy." Thalia continued.

"Oh right, I should go.' She said as both girls laughed.

"I'd recommend that."

"And don't do anything I wouldn't do." Thalia laughed as Rebecca waved goodbye.

She made one quick stop at the bathroom to remove her robe; she was wearing a jeans and t-shirt beneath, quickly washed her face and did her hair up in a ponytail before continuing. All the while berating herself mentally, why she was fixing up, they were probably just training. She had worked herself up into a nervous wreck by the time she reached where the Room of Requirements should be, made even more so when she realized she didn't know how to get in, she just knew she was going to Albus so what should she think of, the room where Albus is? Would that even work?

"Becca."Came Albus' voice from in the empty passage causing her to give a tiny shriek. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He exclaimed as he pulled off the invisibility cloak, his face apologetic. He was wearing black jeans and a green shirt that made his eyes look even greener, if possible, his hair was its usual black mess.

"It's ok; I was a little out of it I guess." She replied nervously.

He smiled slightly and her heart did a little flip in her chest. "Come on, I have something to show you." He took her hand and went through the routine of walking three times to make the door appear, although Albus only smiled when she asked him what exactly she should be thinking of before saying he'd take care of it.

The door that appeared was one she wasn't familiar with, it was white with carvings in the wood inlaid with gold. Any thoughts she had that they might be training suddenly disappeared while her nervousness grew tenfold.

"I wanted that trip to Hogsmeade to be kinda like a first date for us" Albus was saying while he stared at her with those damn eyes that saw too much and turned her knees to mush. "But you had to be in disguise, my family was there and then we were attacked so as far as first dates go that was one of the worst." He finished with a wry smile. He saw that she was on the verge of apologizing so he continued quickly. "If we had spent the day at the shrieking shack surrounded by my family I wouldn't mind because I'd be with you but I thought you deserved a proper first date too."

"You didn't have to…." She started.

"I know, but I wanted to. Come on." He pulled her inside and for a minute there was just darkness before the room was filled with light.

"Oh my…" Was all Rebecca could manage and that didn't even seem to suffice. The room looked nothing like a training room she thought hysterically. It was now about half the size of their training room, the floor was covered with a large white blanket and on it appeared to be a picnic basket. Where the wall at the front of the room should have been was instead a view of the lake and the sunset, as she looked a thestral flew into the woods behind it banishing any thoughts of it being a painting. "How did you do all this?" She asked in amazement. He blushed slightly.

'It was nothing; the room did most of it. I charmed the wall though cause I know you love the outdoors but I knew we wouldn't be able to go outside and we have the house elves in the kitchen to thank for the picnic." He smiled as he finished and without thinking Rebecca walked forward, pulled him forward by his shirt and kissed him. He froze for a second before one hand moved to her hair while one stayed at her lower back. He was the one who ended the kiss, somewhat reluctantly, and walked them over to the picnic.

Rebecca decided she really would make sure she thanked the house elves, they were simply amazing, the food was simply amazing. "This isn't what everyone else is having is it?" She asked as Albus took out dessert out of the picnic basket. The basket had been charmed to work like the house tables with courses coming and going.

"No its not, I asked them to make this specifically for us." He grinned and she saw was suddenly reminded of James, he's just like his brother, she thought. He just hides it better.

"How did you manage that?"

"I'm a potter remember." He answered wiggling his brows and making her laugh.

"Seriously." She said one she'd stopped laughing.

"Most of them are friends of mine so it wasn't hard to ask a favor and since I don't bother them very often they knew without asking that it was important so I think that's why they made the extra effort… and I'm a Potter." He finished with a wry smile.

'You don't like it sometimes do you?"

"Not always, like when I just started here it took some getting used to the attention and learning who liked you for you and not because of your name, it wasn't always easy. James was already going here so I didn't expect much ruckus but then James doesn't look like dad as much as I do. Then when your good at anything or get a certain grade in anything it's not because your genuinely good it's just because your Harry Potter's son and you know all the teachers and your dad will set Voldemort on anyone who gives you a bad grade."

She burst out laughing at that point. "Someone actually said that?" She asked trying to contain her laughter.

"Oh yeah, and loads more." He smiled as he remembered. "One kid wanted to be my best friend from the train ride, said we'd be like Ron and Harry. He wasn't happy when he got placed in Hufflepuff, said I told the Sorting Hat to put him there because I didn't like him."

"Wow, I didn't know you had those powers.' She giggled.

"You're not the only one.' He laughed.

It was dark outside when they were finished desert; the lake now reflected the star filled moonless sky. My some unspoken agreement they said together facing the sky, the picnic basket had vanished and cushions crowded the blanket. Albus packed several behind him and sat spread-eagled with Rebecca between his legs as he showed her the constellations. "Half of Scorpius' family is in the sky." He laughed. "He said the tradition is ending with him, he probably gonna start a new tradition with planets now." They both started laughing.

"Little venus and Neptune." Rebecca supplied while Albus' body shook with laughter behind her. She turned slightly when she felt the laughter stop, he was looking down at her with that expression again; this boy really would be the death of her. She moved first and he met her half way. She sighed slightly as their lips met, he made a sound in the back of his throat and wrapped his hand in her hair pulling her closer to him and her mouth opened beneath his. This was why she ran, this was why she wouldn't go back, she needed this. She hadn't been living before this, how could she go back to a life without it?

She pulled back suddenly and Albus seemed to draw himself together, his hand slowly left her hair even as he pulled her closer to his chest, she could feel his heart, much like hers, thundering inside his chest. "We should probably go now." He whispered after a few minutes of silence.

"Good idea." She replied as they rose from the blanket. They held hands as they walked out in silence, taking one last look before exiting the room. Once they were outside Rebecca kissed Albus on the cheek, it felt safer to do it out here.

"What was that or?"

"The best first date a girl could ask for." She answered as they set off towards the Gryffindor common room.

"Better than Hogsmeade?"

"Just a little bit, it was pretty close though." She answered seriously before they started laughing.


End file.
